In line with its new foreign policy after the end of the Cold War India started to significantly increase its political, economic and military relations with Southeast Asia at the beginning of the 1990ies. Since then, but particularly for the last ten years this so-called „Look East Policy“ has grown to a strong and multifaceted partnership that constitutes a major component of Indian foreign policy today. The principal purpose of this thesis is to evaluate India’s motives for its strong interactions with Southeast Asia. The most common approach among academics to explain India’s Look East Policy follows a liberal understanding of International Relations. Liberals argue that both, India and the Southeast Asian countries want to exploit complementarities in their economic and social structures: This thesis however, follows a neorealist understanding of International Relations by arguing that the Look East Policy is primarily a strategy of the Indian government to counterbalance the growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia: Due to the geographic closeness of the Asia Pacific region to the Indian subcontinent, China’s presence there is particularly worrisome for India. It thus aligns with the Southeast Asian states in order to push back the Chinese power. In addition to evaluate the motives for India’s Look East Policy, the aim of this thesis is also to confute the liberal critiques on the balance of power theory and to show that the conception has still an enormous predicative power also in the twenty-first century. (Neorealist Balance of Power/Balance of Threat Theory). Moteover, while most existing publications using the balance of power theory mainly focus on balancing for political and military power this thesis also takes into account balancing for economic strength. It thus offers a broader approach by also explaining foreign economic policy. The thesis tests the neorealist balance of power theory by applying it to two case studies: On the one hand the negotiation process on the India-ASEAN Free Trade agreement in goods will be examined, on the other hand India’s cooperation with Myanmar during the last ten years will be analysed in detail.
Table of Contents
1) INTRODUCTION
1.1 AIMS OF THE THESIS
1.2 OUTLINE
2) LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY
2.2 INDIA’S LOOK EAST POLICY
3) GEOPOLITICS AND FOREIGN ECONOMIC POLICY
3.1 THE NEOREALIST BALANCE OF POWER THEORY
3.2 LIBERAL CRITIQUES OF THE BALANCE OF POWER THEORY
3.3 THE BALANCE OF POWER THEORY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
4) METHODOLOGY
4.1 THE BALANCE OF POWER THEORY AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
4.2 THE BALANCE OF POWER THEORY AND INDIA’S LOOK EAST POLICY
4.3 CASE SELECTION
5) INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY – AN OVERVIEW
5.1 INDIA’S NEW POSITIONING AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR
5.2 INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS
5.3 INDIA-SOUTHEAST ASIA RELATIONS
6) CASE STUDY I: THE INDIA-ASEAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
6.1 CHRONOLOGICAL PROGRESSION
6.2 STATEMENTS OF THE MAIN POLICY-MAKERS INVOLVED IN THE FTA PROCESS
6.3 THE INFLUENCE OF NON-STATE ACTORS
6.4 FACTUAL BENEFITS ARISING FROM THE FTA
7) CASE STUDY II: INDIA’S CLOSE RELATIONS WITH MYANMAR
7.1 CHRONOLOGICAL PROGRESSION
7.2 STATEMENTS OF THE MAIN POLICY-MAKERS INVOLVED
7.3 THE INFLUENCE OF NON-STATE ACTORS
7.4 FACTUAL BENEFITS ARISING FROM THE COOPERATION
8) CONCLUSION
8.1 IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY
8.2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This thesis aims to evaluate the primary motives behind India's "Look East Policy" and its strong interactions with Southeast Asia. While common academic perspectives often rely on liberal theories of international relations—focusing on mutual economic benefits and transnational cooperation—this work challenges that view. The central research question explores whether India's engagement is essentially a strategic move to counterbalance the growing regional influence of China through a neorealist perspective.
- Analysis of Indian foreign policy shifts post-Cold War.
- Confrontation of neorealist and liberal international relations theories.
- Evaluation of the "China factor" as a driver for regional cooperation.
- Case study: The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
- Case study: India’s bilateral relations and cooperation with Myanmar.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Aims of the Thesis
In line with its new foreign policy after the end of the Cold War India started to significantly increase its political, economic and military relations with Southeast Asia at the beginning of the 1990ies. Since then, but particularly for the last ten years this so-called „Look East Policy“ has grown to a strong and multifaceted partnership that constitutes a major component of Indian foreign policy today.
On the one hand India has considerably increased its influence in the ASEAN by its gradual integration into the association. Recently, this has even led to the signature of a Free Trade Agreement. On the other hand, India’s membership of sub regional cooperation forums such as BIMSTEC and its close bilateral ties to several ASEAN member countries constitute two additional pillars of its Look East Strategy.
The principal purpose of this thesis is to evaluate India’s motives for its strong interactions with Southeast Asia. The most common approach among academics to explain India’s Look East Policy follows a liberal understanding of international relations. Liberals argue that both, India and the ASEAN countries want to exploit complementarities in their economic and social structures: By teaming India’s inexpensive skilled labour and its strong scientific base with ASEAN’s capital and applied technology, a win-win situation for both powers is created (see for example: Anderson 2000, 219). Furthermore, collaboration on political and security issues permits them to better tackle the trans-national challenges that characterise our world today, namely, terrorist menaces, environmental problems or energy scarcity.
My argument, however, is that the potential for mutual benefits alone cannot sufficiently account for India’s strong interest in Southeast Asia. I argue that the Look East Policy is rather a strategy of the Indian government to counterbalance the growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. China as the rising power of the twenty-first century par excellence has the potential to threaten the Indian security. Although the bilateral relations between these two rising powers have significantly improved during the last 20 years, they keep on competing for power and influence in Asia as well as on global stage.
Summary of Chapters
1) INTRODUCTION: Defines the thesis objective of evaluating India's Look East Policy, arguing that it serves primarily as a strategy to counterbalance rising Chinese influence rather than just pursuing economic benefits.
2) LITERATURE REVIEW: Provides an overview of academic publications regarding Indian foreign policy, highlighting the gap in profound neorealist assessments of the Look East Policy.
3) GEOPOLITICS AND FOREIGN ECONOMIC POLICY: Confronts neorealism and liberalism, analyzing the balance of power theory against liberal critiques to establish a theoretical framework for the study.
4) METHODOLOGY: Explains the decision to apply the balance of power theory to a regional system and justifies the use of process tracing to evaluate India's foreign policy actions.
5) INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY – AN OVERVIEW: Examines the transformation of Indian foreign policy after the Cold War and the complex dynamics of the India-China relationship.
6) CASE STUDY I: THE INDIA-ASEAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: Investigates the negotiation process of the AIFTA, showing how India's concessions were driven by the strategic need to match China's regional presence.
7) CASE STUDY II: INDIA’S CLOSE RELATIONS WITH MYANMAR: Analyzes India's persistent ties with Myanmar's military regime, arguing this cooperation is essential for countering Chinese influence and securing strategic land-links.
8) CONCLUSION: Summarizes the findings, confirming that the balancing strategy hypothesis holds true and provides implications for international relations theory in the 21st century.
Keywords
India, Look East Policy, Southeast Asia, China, Neorealism, Balance of Power, Foreign Policy, ASEAN, Free Trade Agreement, Myanmar, International Relations, Geopolitics, Strategic Cooperation, Liberalism, Regional Hegemony
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The thesis investigates the underlying motives of India's "Look East Policy," analyzing whether it is driven by liberal expectations of mutual economic gain or by neorealist strategic goals.
What are the central thematic fields?
The work focuses on international relations theory, India's foreign policy post-Cold War, the geopolitical rivalry between India and China, and the economic integration efforts in Southeast Asia.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to test the hypothesis that India's cooperation with Southeast Asia is a strategic counterbalancing measure against China, specifically by applying the balance of power theory.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author employs the process tracing method to analyze the causal links between Indian foreign policy decisions and their outcomes, grounded in neorealist and liberal theoretical frameworks.
What is covered in the main body?
The body consists of a theoretical analysis of neorealism vs. liberalism, an overview of Indian foreign relations, and two detailed case studies on the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the bilateral relationship with Myanmar.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key concepts include the "China factor," balance of power, neorealism, Look East Policy, and relative vs. absolute gains in international relations.
How does the author view the "Chindia" concept?
The author acknowledges the economic potential of "Chindia" but argues that it is severely limited by the enduring geopolitical and strategic rivalry between the two nations.
Why is Myanmar considered a "most-likely" case study?
It is viewed as a "most-likely" case because India's strong interest in an underdeveloped, military-ruled neighbor suggests that strategic imperatives—such as balancing China—take precedence over political or economic normative considerations.
- Quote paper
- Johanna Bötscher (Author), 2011, A neorealist assessment of India´s Look East Policy, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/170395
