India’s Relations with its Neighbours

Maintaining good relations with neighbours is the first priority for any country. The credibility of a country’s global posture is undermined if it is seen as embroiled in conflicts with its neighbours. While in theory the need to have a peaceful, stable and friendly neighbourhood is clear, what that means in practical terms is a different question. Can good relations be built unilaterally? Is a smaller neighbour always right in its demands? These are not the only issues that arise in an examination of the conditions in which neighbouring countries relate to each other, the role of external actors in determining those conditions are as critical. In the case of India and its neighbours these considerations matter even more because of historical and geostrategic reasons. How much is India perceived as a regional hegemon and how an external power is inducted into the region to reduce the weight of that perceived hegemon and by whom is the subject of this analysis.