ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of the Indian governmental agency in the transmission of democratic values beyond Indian borders, and concludes with an assessment of whether Indian efforts succeed in circumnavigating any of the challenges that democracy promotion has at times posed to peaceful co-existence amidst diversity. Liberal democracy has been both theorized as a palliative for international conflict and deployed by liberal democratic states through democracy promotion. Attempts at democracy promotion have emerged as a diplomatic tool that proposes to improve relations between liberal and non-liberal polities by increasing the number of liberal democracies in the international system. The promotion of liberal values and institutions has also become incorporated into the mission statements of several multilateral groupings. The Indian approach to democratic diplomacy appears to offer some alternatives to the traditional democracy promotion agendas of Western liberal democracies. Indian attempts at global democratic leadership have been mediated by India's national interests and deeper values.
