#3 The India Way: Strategies For An Uncertain World

While picking up the book "The India Way," I was expecting an easy read due to my established interest in strategy and admiration for my country. However, I was pleasantly surprised by its complexity, as it additionally required both parallel reading (mostly googling) and a keen eye for hidden meanings between the lines. 

In this book, author S. Jaishankar provides a comprehensive exploration of India's contemporary foreign policy. He challenges the notion that foreign policy is solely about the 'foreign,' by stressing the correlation between domestic success and global leadership. 

The author highlights the significance of strategic autonomy, that enables a rising power like India, to resist external pressures and make informed decisions while maintaining convergence on common and divergence on conflicting interests.

He urges India to move beyond complacency and continuously adapt to an ever-evolving world. He asserts that foreign policy extends beyond defense and security, encompassing industrial and technological capacities. Hence, he advocates for India's active engagement with diverse global players including the USA, China, Europe, Russia, Japan, neighbors, and traditional allies, with the goal of fostering our influence in a strong multipolar but weak multilateral world. 

He highlights the growing global expectations and responsibilities that come with India's economic growth. He also mentions the role of narratives, in shaping a country's image, in the realpolitik. He advocates for building better capabilities (w.r.t maritime connectivity, health security, technology transfer, cultural exchange etc.) and fixing internal silos (w.r.t trust, transparency, fairness, cooperation etc.) as they are the essential components of successful policy implementation.

In essence, the book stresses the need for India's foreign policy to remain dynamic and responsive to the ever evolving global landscape without shying away from taking calculated risks and unconventional measures.