Indian Politics & Policy Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 2018 | Page 6

Tone Indian Shift: India’s Politics Dominant & Policy • Foreign Vol. 1, Policy No. 1 • Aims Spring Under 2018Modi
Tone Shift: India’s Dominant Foreign
Policy Aims Under Modi
Chris Ogden
Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Asian Security,
School of International Relations, University of St. Andrews
Abstract
This article highlights the dominant aims of the current BJP government
concerning India’s foreign policy. Using a constructivist-centered
and discourse-orientated approach, it distils the three
prevailing strategic goals integral to the Narendra Modi-led regime,
namely gaining great power recognition; realizing a multipolar
world order; and enacting the “Act East” policy. The study
finds that, although proof of a prevailing “Modi Doctrine” is scarce,
the presence of these three aims is notably consistent and prevalent
within official discourses and scholarly accounts of the foreign policy
preferences of the second NDA. Their repetition and reiteration
constitutes evidence of both a significant acceleration and a noteworthy
tone shift concerning how Indian foreign policy has been
conceptualized and conducted since 2014.
Keywords: Modi, great power, multipolarity, Act East, constructivism,
discourse
Resumen
Este artículo resalta los objetivos principales del gobierno actual
de BJP en relación con la política exterior de India. Utilizando un
acercamiento centrado en el constructivismo y orientado hacia el
discurso, formula los tres objetivos estratégicos principales que
son vitales para el régimen de Narendra Modi, es decir; obtener un
gran reconocimiento del poder; crear un orden mundial multipolar;
y el promulgar la política “Act East.” El estudio encuentra que,
a pesar de que haya pocas pruebas de que la “Doctrina Modi” esté
prevaleciendo, la presencia de estos tres objetivos es notablemente
consistente y prevalente dentro de los discursos oficiales y narrativas
académicas de las preferencias de política exterior y la segunda
National Democratic Alliance. La repetición y reiteración consti-
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doi: 10.18278/inpp.1.1.2