Skip to main content
This volume focuses on the rapidly expanding strategic relationship between India and Japan, expanding on the hitherto under-analyzed concept of “strategic partnership,” tracing the history of the interaction, and gauging its current and... more
This volume focuses on the rapidly expanding strategic relationship between India and Japan, expanding on the hitherto under-analyzed concept of “strategic partnership,” tracing the history of the interaction, and gauging its current and future trajectories. The rise of China and its challenge to U.S. dominance of the global system is the setting in which the partnership has assumed a major profile, incorporating both defence and economic cooperation on an unprecedented scale. The increasing congruence of Indian and Japanese interests is juxtaposed with the inherent limitations of the partnership to portray a complex picture of a kind of strategic relationship that has become a staple of contemporary international politics.
The withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent return of the Taliban to power have resulted in India and Iran aligning over Afghanistan's future once again. India risks facing isolation and sees its relationship with Iran as essential to... more
The withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent return of the Taliban to power have resulted in India and Iran aligning over Afghanistan's future once again. India risks facing isolation and sees its relationship with Iran as essential to preventing Pakistani hegemony in their shared neighbourhood. Their renewed regional convergence overlaps with an otherwise widening strategic dissonance as the two countries drift further apart within the international order: India as a defence partner of the US embedded in the Indo-Pacific framework and Iran working with China and Russia to counter the US-led order. This often raises questions of reliability within the India-Iran partnership. The article engages with this perception and examines India's strategic calculus visa -vis Iran in a changing global order characterised by declining US commitment. It argues that, notwithstanding the numerous structural and bilateral constraints between them, India will continue to engage an otherwise challenging partner like Iran, as its strategies are, on balance, benefitting from a world that is in flux.
The three pillars of India's foreign policy strategy under an overarching preference for 'strategic autonomy' are security, economic development, and status. Japan plays a significant part with respect to all three. We employ an... more
The three pillars of India's foreign policy strategy under an overarching preference for 'strategic autonomy' are security, economic development, and status. Japan plays a significant part with respect to all three. We employ an analytical framework that assesses how Narendra Modi, in line with a trend set in motion by his predecessors, has attempted to build the India-Japan partnership through a set of nested strategic partnerships: bilateral (India-Japan), trilateral (India-Japan-United States) and quadrilateral (India-Japan-United States-Australia). We examine the extent to which Modi has contributed to the strengthening of each of these partnerships with respect to institutionalisation, security, economic interaction and status. Our findings show the degree of continuity or change wrought by Modi in each case and the reasons for this. We conclude that Modi's transformative impact has been limited, though he has been able to take two of the three strategic partnerships forward to a significant extent.
This article examines the India-U.S. strategic partnership and argues that the Iran factor is not as big an impediment to the bilateral relationship as is often assumed.
Routledge: Cass Series: Naval Policy and History
The idea of engaging Iran through the lens of Eurasia is not alien to India’s foreign policy. Even as sanctions debilitate its energy dealings with Iran, India’s connectivity strategy through the Iranian port of Chabahar is designed to... more
The idea of engaging Iran through the lens of Eurasia is not alien to India’s foreign policy. Even as sanctions debilitate its energy dealings with Iran, India’s connectivity strategy through the Iranian port of Chabahar is designed to further its interests in Eurasia (particularly in Afghanistan and Central Asia). This paper traces India’s shifting priorities vis-à-vis Iran: reduced dealings in energy, limited security interactions and a renewed focus on land and maritime connectivity initiatives. It finds that — intentionally or not — the future of the India–Iran relationship is strongly intertwined with the Eurasian sphere, given its bet on connectivity.
July 8, 2021
The Quad is no Asian NATO. And that may be its greatest strength.

URL: https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/the-quad-what-it-is-and-what-it-is-not/ (March 24, 2021)
January 07, 2020
September 20, 2017
Indo-Iranian security cooperation provides a critical case for evaluating theories of cooperation such as Robert Axelrod’s Cooperation Theory which stipulates two conditions under which cooperation between two players or states emerges in... more
Indo-Iranian security cooperation provides a critical case for evaluating theories of cooperation such as Robert Axelrod’s Cooperation Theory which stipulates two conditions under which cooperation between two players or states emerges in an anarchic world – 'reciprocity' and 'shadow of the future' (where both sides anticipate long term interaction). On the basis of Indian government records, security cooperation between India and Iran from 1979 to 2009 has transformed from “historic and civilizational ties�? to one where strategic interests have converged on a number of areas such as energy, Central Asia and stability in Afghanistan. Despite Indo-US rapprochement and Western efforts to further isolate Iran, the existence of enduring 'reciprocity' and 'shadow of the future' implies that the bilateral relationship is one that neither India nor Iran will abandon in totality. The paper posits that a move from specific to diffuse reciprocity is perhaps the way forward for Indo-Iranian security cooperation. This case also reinforces the criticism of the Cooperation Theory that it overlooks both domestic and individualistic determinants in relation to the the game theory model.
The withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent return of the Taliban to power have resulted in India and Iran aligning over Afghanistan’s future once again. India risks facing isolation and sees its relationship with Iran as essential to... more
The withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent return of the Taliban to power have resulted in India and Iran aligning over Afghanistan’s future once again. India risks facing isolation and sees its relationship with Iran as essential to preventing Pakistani hegemony in their shared neighbourhood. Their renewed regional convergence overlaps with an otherwise widening strategic dissonance as the two countries drift further apart within the international order: India as a defence partner of the US embedded in the Indo-Pacific framework and Iran working with China and Russia to counter the US-led order. This often raises questions of reliability within the India–Iran partnership. The article engages with this perception and examines India’s strategic calculus vis-a-vis Iran in a changing global order characterised by declining US commitment. It argues that, notwithstanding the numerous structural and bilateral constraints between them, India will continue to engage an otherwise challen...
With international sanctions lifted against Iran last week, New Delhi would be wise to step up its efforts to secure the contract for developing the Chabahar port in Iran. Time is no longer on its side as the writer observed during a... more
With international sanctions lifted against Iran last week, New Delhi would be wise to step up its efforts to secure the contract for developing the Chabahar port in Iran. Time is no longer on its side as the writer observed during a field trip to Chabahar.
This article examines the India-U.S. strategic partnership and argues that the Iran factor is not as big an impediment to the bilateral relationship as is often assumed.
RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical issues and contemporary developments. The views of the authors are their own and do not represent the official... more
RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical issues and contemporary developments. The views of the authors are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior permission from RSIS and due recognition to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email: RSISPublications@ntu.edu.sg for feedback to the Editor RSIS Commentaries, Mr Yang Razali Kassim.
The India–Japan “special strategic and global partnership” has been described as one that will define the Indo-Pacific and shape the Asian century. This introductory chapter introduces the reader to a brief history of the growing... more
The India–Japan “special strategic and global partnership” has been described as one that will define the Indo-Pacific and shape the Asian century. This introductory chapter introduces the reader to a brief history of the growing relationship, defines the hitherto inadequately explored concept of “strategic partnership” in a post-alliance world, explains the objectives, design and relevance of the book and outlines the distinguishing features of the chapters to follow.
The nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries have witnessed unprecedented diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran. Contrary to expectations, a final nuclear deal will not achieve a significant... more
The nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries have witnessed unprecedented diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran. Contrary to expectations, a final nuclear deal will not achieve a significant rapprochment, but only a limited détente in US-Iran ties.
As Iraqi forces launch operations to retake IS strongholds, there is palpable concern among governments around the world regarding fighters who may choose to return to their countries of origin or head to a new safe haven. It is within... more
As Iraqi forces launch operations to retake IS strongholds, there is palpable concern among governments around the world regarding fighters who may choose to return to their countries of origin or head to a new safe haven. It is within this context that the paper examines the influence of the IS in India and, further east, in Southeast Asia. It argues that the threat is essentially local and the networks enabling IS-inspired attacks are largely familiar to security forces in these regions. The paper concludes that the counter-war for these countries has to rightly focus now on the Islamic State – the ideology, rather than the Islamic State – the territorial entity in Iraq and Syria.