Students of IR, MEA officials, strategic journalists, and anyone asking why India remains a âswing powerâ that cannot lock in its own neighborhood.
â â â â â (4/5) Deducted one star for relative neglect of maritime and non-state actor dimensions. Students of IR, MEA officials, strategic journalists, and
Decoding Indiaâs Neighbourhood Challenge arrives at a critical juncture in South Asian geopolitics. The volume, likely edited by a strategic affairs expert (e.g., Harsh V. Pant or Constantino Xavier, given their work on the subject), systematically unpacks why New Delhiâdespite its civilisational heft and economic growthâcontinues to struggle with asymmetric interdependence, trust deficits, and rival connectivity projects in its immediate periphery. The book moves beyond the clichĂ© of India as a âreluctant hegemonâ to dissect the structural, institutional, and perceptual barriers that turn neighbourhood management into Indiaâs most persistent foreign policy headache. The volume, likely edited by a strategic affairs expert (e
Decoding Indiaâs Neighbourhood Challenge is an essential read for South Asia scholars, foreign policy analysts, and Indian policymakers tired of cosmetic âNeighbourhood Firstâ rhetoric. Its sobering conclusionâthat India cannot outspend China but can out-credibility it through faster, need-based, and less intrusive projectsâoffers a plausible roadmap. However, the bookâs realism sometimes borders on pessimism, underestimating how democratic resilience and people-to-people ties might yet tilt the periphery back toward New Delhi. foreign policy analysts