ABSTRACT
The tensions between the US and China, India's security partner and northern neighbour, respectively, have required India to rethink its foreign policy priorities and recalculate its regional and global strategy. This has raised several questions about how India will navigate the great power competition in its backyard: will it emerge as a swing state, revert to its Cold War–era policy of non-alignment, or adopt a new alignment strategy? This chapter argues that India shares notably distinct power equations with the US and China that will influence the course of foreign policy trajectory. It contends that India is increasingly adopting a ‘pointed alignment’ strategy that involves greater outreach and collaboration with like-minded powers—such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue states—as a way to bolster its security, political, economic, and cultural relations with strategic partners and pursue shared strategic objectives in a complex order. This includes an acute focus on middle power diplomacy, with greater outreach to middle powers such as Japan, Australia, the EU, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The chapter concludes by drawing assessments for the future trajectory of India's foreign policy.
