In this episode, we are joined by Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, who traces the history and evolution of India’s foreign policy and place in the world in the new book, “India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present.”
Going back into history, the book looks at the origins and evolution of India's foreign policy and view of the world, from how India's leaders, in the early years after Independence, crafted the foreign policy of a newly independent country, to how India navigated the Cold War and then the age of globalisation and rise of China.
It also examines India's present foreign policy challenges and how they may be best tackled. The author tells us why the country is served best when interconnected with the world and not by turning inward, although he fears we may now be headed in the wrong direction. The world, he says, is facing a hinge moment, and he explains why India needs to be clear-eyed in its vision of what it seeks in the international order, and particularly in crafting a new modus vivendi with China after the 2020 border crisis.
Also read | China tore up the modus vivendi in 2020, the LAC is now live: Shivshankar Menon
