Introduction: a rising and assertive India

At their heart, India’s global relations are driven by the values, principles and practices of its national identity, as determined by its major political parties and leaders. In the last decade, the basis of this identity has undergone a major shift as the ascendancy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power under Narendra Modi, and their repeated success in national elections, has successfully challenged – and to a degree, superseded – the politics of the Indian National Congress. Such a shift has seen the emergence of a more assertive and confident India, which when combined with the state’s ever-increasing economic and military prowess, has translated into a more determined and visible foreign policy. It has also opened up new possibilities for the conduct of India’s international affairs, as states across South Asia, the Indo-Pacific and the world adjust not only to a more powerful India but also the resultant fluctuating power balances within global politics as a whole. Accompanying these developments has been a consistency in India’s core foreign policy goals – the pursuit of influence and status. This volume’s focus upon national identity, in particular its formation across time and the influence of history and experience upon it, allows us to trace these changes and continuities, and acts as this edited book’s unifying framework that underpins our cohesive analysis of Global India.