FULL VIDEO OF BOOK LAUNCH AND DISCUSSION CO-ORGANISED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AND CPR
SOUTH ASIA INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

Watch the full video (above) of the launch of Zorawar Daulet Singh’s new book, ‘Power and Diplomacy: India’s Foreign Policies during the Cold War’, co-organised by Oxford University Press and CPR.

Hamid Ansari, former Vice President of India was the Guest of Honour.

The launch was followed by a panel discussion featuring Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Advisor of India, Suhasini Haidar, National Editor of The Hindu, Gautam Mukhopadhyay, Senior Visiting Fellow at CPR and author, Zorawar Daulet Singh, Fellow at CPR.

A curated list of reviews of the book can be found here.

About the Book

The notion that a monolithic idea of ‘nonalignment’ shaped India’s foreign policy since its inception is a popular view. In Power and Diplomacy, Zorawar Daulet Singh challenges conventional wisdom by unveiling another layer of India’s strategic culture. In a richly detailed narrative using new archival material, the author not only reconstructs the worldviews and strategies that underlay geopolitics during the Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi years, he also illuminates the significant transformation in Indian statecraft as policymakers redefined some of their fundamental precepts on India’s role in in the subcontinent and beyond. His contention is that those exertions of Indian policymakers are equally apposite and relevant today.

Whether it is about crafting a sustainable set of equations with competing great powers, formulating an intelligent Pakistan policy, managing India’s ties with its smaller neighbours, dealing with China’s rise and Sino-American tensions, or developing a sustainable Indian role in Asia, Power and Diplomacy strikes at the heart of contemporary debates on India’s unfolding foreign policies.

About the Author

Zorawar Daulet Singh is a Fellow at CPR, and is associated with the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. For the past decade, he has been a regular commentator and columnist on India’s foreign policy and various dimensions of India-China relations. His co-authored books include India-China Relations: The Border Issue and Beyond and Chasing the Dragon: Will India Catch up with China? He holds a PhD in international relations from King’s College London, and an MA from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.