India's foreign policy in the 21st century: Continuity and change

Abstract

The paper endeavours to selectively present some of the new ?challenges and threats? that India?s foreign policy is likely to face in the next few decades. Section I critically examines the transformations that altered the content and trajectory of India?s foreign policy since independence. Section II deals with the challenges that have plagued the foreign policy in the contemporary era. Section III deals with the threat posed by China in the region and beyond. The last section discusses the possibility of a paradigm shift from hard to soft power and discusses the viability of it as an option for the practitioners of foreign policy in India.