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Indian Foreign Affairs Journal

Published in Association with Association of Indian Diplomats

Current Volume: 20 (2025 )

ISSN: 0973-3248

e-ISSN: 2229-5372

Periodicity: Quarterly

Month(s) of Publication: March, June, September & December

Subject: Political Science & International Affairs

DOI: 10.32381/IFAJ

300

Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, a peer reviewed quarterly publication of the Association of Indian Diplomats, attempts to provide an intellectually stimulating forum for the examination of various aspects of India's Foreign Policy. This Examination is undertaken by the experienced decision-makers, serious scholars, and seasoned analysts.

EBSCO
ProQuest
Genamics (JournalSeek)
Indian Citation Index (ICI)

 

Managing Editor
Achal Malhotra

Ambassador (Retd.) and Member,
Executive Committee, Association of Indian Diplomats, New Delhi.


Editor
Abdul Nafey

Professor (Retd.) School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi


Copy Editor
Preeti Singh

Ex-Officio Members
T. C. A. Raghavan

Ambassador (Retd.) and President, Association of Indian Diplomats, New Delhi


Amarendra Khatua

Ambassador (Retd.) and Vice President, Association of Indian Diplomats, New Delhi


Anil Trigunayat

Ambassador (Retd.) and Secretary, Association of Indian Diplomats, New Delhi


A.K Malhotra

Ambassador (Retd.) and Treasurer, Association of Indian Diplomats, New Delhi


Nominated Members
Sachin Chaturvedi

Director General,Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi


Sanjay Chaturvedi

Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh


Neelam Deo

Former Director, 'Gateway House' Indian Council on Global Relations, Mumbai.


Darvesh Gopal

Former Professor of Political Science, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi


Arvind Gupta

Director, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi


Rajat Kathuria

Director & Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi


G. Gopa Kumar

Vice Chancellor, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod.


Jayant Prasad

Former Director General, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.


P. K. Singh

Former Director, United Services Institution of India, New Delhi.


Nalin Surie

Former Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.


International Advisers
David M. Malone

Rector of the United Nations University & Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Tokyo, Japan.


Ong Keng Yong

Executive Deputy Chairman, Director, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.


 T.V. Paul

James McGill Professor of International Relations, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


Elizabeth Sidiropoulose

National Director, South African Institute of International Affairs, Braamfontein, South Africa.


Peter N Varghese

Chancellor, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.


Research Associate
Hoimi Mukherjee

Volume 20 Issue 2 , (Apr- to Jun-2025)

From the Editors’ Desk
India-USA: Dents in a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership

By: Achal K. Malhotra

Page No : i-iii

Building India’s Economic Security: Amidst Global Trade, Investment, Currency and Aid Turmoil

By: Subhash Chandra Garg

Page No : 97-112

Abstract
The global economic, trade, aid and financial system is in big turmoil and transition, especially after the US President Donald Trump began dismantling the global trade and aid order. Economic security is multi-dimensional. While the ability to consume goods and services to meet a dignified standard of human needs is the consumption security, investment, trade, and aid security are also very important dimensions of economic security for India. India has been slapped with one of the highest tariffs (50%), with India’s purchase of Russian oil becoming a compounding factor in addition to high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. There does not seem to be a US centric solution in sight as India will not leave its self-imposed redlines on agricultural produce. Diversifying trade to other countries, and increasing domestic consumption might be the better way forward. India is witnessing subdued foreign direct investment flows, and there has been an increasing tendency for foreign portfolio investors to also reduce their investments in India. India had stopped taking foreign aid in the early 2000s, and it may not matter much for the USA to dismantle its aid agency and diplomacy. India remains vulnerable on the foreign exchange front as well. There are important developments in international currency markets with the advent of stablecoins. India needs to alter its attitude towards cryptocurrencies, most specifically stablecoins soon.

Author
Subhash Chandra Garg
is the author of ‘The $10 Trillion Dream’ and a Former Finance Secretary.
 

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.2.1

Price: 251

India-Pakistan Relations: An Embittered Legacy

By: Yashvardhan K. Sinha

Page No : 113-124

Abstract

It was a typical August evening in 1947 when Indian army officers gathered at the Imperial Gymkhana Club (later Delhi Gymkhana Club) to bid farewell to their British and Pakistani counterparts.1 Conflicting emotions of hope, joy, agony and trepidation swept the gathering. A nation had been torn asunder — India was being partitioned and Pakistan was being carved out. On August 15, at the stroke of the midnight hour, India attained freedom after almost two centuries of colonial subjugation and depredation. However, the seeds of future conflict had been firmly planted, notwithstanding the bonhomie, contrived in some cases, that was displayed at the Gymkhana Club that evening. Many friends and comrades-in-arms would confront each other in battle before the year ran out, and in the ensuing decades. The story of three officers present on that occasion, whose lives and careers would intersect in times to come, is worth recounting. Lt. Col. S.H.F.J. Manekshaw was General Staff Officer 1 (G 1) in the Military Operations Directorate; Maj. Yahya Khan was G2 and Capt. S. K. Sinha was G3 in the same directorate at Army Headquarters.2 Till his Humber came from Peshawar, Yahya would occasionally ride pillion with Sinha in his Norton from the Wellesley Road (Zakir Hussain Marg) Officers Mess to South Block.

Author
Yashvardhan K. Sinha
served as Deputy Secretary, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, handling Pakistan. He also served as Counsellor and Head of the Political Wing at the High Commission of India, Islamabad. He retired from the Indian Foreign Service in 2018 as High Commissioner to the UK. Subsequently, he was appointed Chief Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission. He demitted office in 2023.
​​​​​​​

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.2.2

Price: 251

Role of Middle Powers in a Polycentric World Order: A Practitioner’s Perspective

By: Anil Trigunayat

Page No : 125-139

Abstract
With the rise of the polycentric world order, the importance of middle powers as crucial players with the ability to influence international governance, resolve disputes, and promote multilateral cooperation has increased. Due to growing geopolitical rivalries, especially the Sino-US rivalry, shrinking confidence in international organisations, and the emergence of issue-based alignments, the changing role of middle powers needs to be explored. This essay demonstrates how nations like South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkiye, the UAE, Qatar and others, utilise economic power, diplomatic action, and strategic autonomy to influence regional and global outcomes. Their participation has increased in peace mediation, as in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to problems in West Asia. This highlights how middle powers have a stabilising ability even in situations when big powers remain divided. Middle power alliances, such as BRICS plus, QUAD, 12U2, and other trilaterals, which allow these nations to enhance the scope of negotiations and collectively pursue common goals in climate change, development, and technology, are also examined in the article. Their soft power advantages and commitment to multipolarity have enhanced their international status, despite the presence of power rivalries among them. The essay uses India as a distinctive and notable example to examine how middle powers will continue to play a crucial role in maintaining equilibrium, promoting reforms, and fostering cooperative mechanisms in the evolving world order.

Author
Anil Trigunayat
is a former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta. He is also a Distinguished Fellow with prestigious Think Tanks like Vivekananda International Foundation and United Services Institute of India.
 

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.2.3

Price: 251

Making Sense of Gen Z Protests in Nepal

By: Sangeeta Thapliyal

Page No : 140-152

Abstract
The recent political developments in Nepal have been unprecedented in the country’s history. Young Nepalis, popularly known as Generation Z or Gen Z, brought the country to a standstill through their intense street protests against corruption. They not only brought down the K.P. Oli government but also chose the former Chief Justice of the country, Sushila Karki, to the position of Prime Minister. This essay attempts to examine the how and why of the protest.

Author
Professor Sangeeta Thapliyal
is a faculty member in the School of International Studies, JNU
 

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.2.4

Price: 251

Reorienting India-Nepal Relations for an Aspirational Nepal at the Crossroads of History

By: Atul K. Thakur

Page No : 153-163

Abstract
In the wake of unprecedented political shifts in Nepal and the toughest transition it is confronting as of now, India needs a new prism to view its relationship with its Himalayan neighbour, keeping in mind the past, present, and the future possibilities. In a new democracy, with a deep footprint of active monarchy for about two hundred-forty years, Nepal’s position is uniquely shaped as it offers enough room to look back as much as to look ahead. The broad disillusionment from chronic misgovernance, rampant corruption, and thriving nepotism — added with a gag order of banning social media apps by the KP Oli government followed by a shootout order on the protesting youth (Generation Z or Gen Z) — caused the losses of precious lives (nearly eighty young protesters died, and over five hundred were badly injured) that finally triggered the mass scale nationwide vandalism, targeting party offices, politicians’ houses and symbols of power centres (including Singha Durbar, Parliament Building, Supreme Court), commercial establishments, and the headquarters of Nepal’s leading media group. As the Great Game 2.0 begins in a shaky Nepal, India has to reorient its Nepal policy keeping in view the new challenges at the strategic and economic fronts. This essay focuses broadly on the new realities offered by a new and aspirational Nepal, and the ways to reboot India’s bilateral relations with Nepal

Author
Atul K. Thakur
is a policy professional, columnist and writer. His latest book (co-authored), “Kathmandu Chronicle: Reclaiming India-Nepal Relations; Penguin Random House India”, offers unique insights on Nepal and India-Nepal Relations. The views expressed are personal.
 

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.2.5

Price: 251

Book Review
Review of the Book, The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition by Jorge Heine, Carlos Fortin, Carlos Ominami.

By: Aparajita Kashyap

Page No : 164-167

Author
Aprajita Kashyap is an Associate Professor in Latin American Studies, Centre for the Study of the Americas, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New, Delhi, India.
 

Price: 251

Instruction to the Author

The Indian Foreign Affairs Journal: is a quarterly publication, the first of its type in India. In the context of India emerging as an important player in international affairs, the challenges before its foreign policy have been growing. The issues involved in India's foreign policy call for a larger debate and discussion both within and outside the country. The journal aims to cater to the need to bring in various perspectives on these developments and present policy options to the decision-makers, analysts, and interest groups, in the country.

Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts and all editorial correspondence should be addressed to:
The Editor,
Indian Foreign Affairs Journal,
Sapru House, Barakhamba Road,
New Delhi - 110001,
E-mail: ifajournal@gmail.com

General Guidelines
1. The journal invites contributions on all aspects of India's foreign policy and relations to be considered for publication. Manuscripts and all editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, Sapru House, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110001, E-mail: ifajournal@gmail.com
2. Affiliations with, complete postal and e-mail address of contributors must be provided along with their papers.
3. Articles should be typed on one side of the paper (preferably A 4) and double-spaced throughout (even for quotations, notes, references), accompanied by a soft copy (identical to the hard copy) in IBM compatible format, preferably in MS Word. (However should the author so wish, the hard copy can be generated at the editorial office).
4. Notes and references should be numbered serially and presented at the end of the article.
5. Use British rather than American spellings.
6. Use double quotes throughout. Single quotes marks used within double quotes. Spellings of words in quotations should not be changed. Quotations of three or more lines should be indented with single space, with a line space above and below.
7. Use 'twentieth century', '1990s'. Spell out numbers from one to ninety-nine, 100 and above to remain in figures. However, for exact measurements use only figures (3 km, 9 per cent not %). Use thousands and millions, not lakhs and crores.
8. Use of italics and diacriticals should be minimized, but used consistently.
9. Tables and figures to be indicated by number separately (see Table 1), not by placement (see Table below). Present each table and figure on a separate sheet of paper, gathering them together at the end of the article.
10. A consolidated alphabetical list of all books, articles, essays, and theses referred to (including referred tables, graphs, and maps) should be provided at the end of the article in double-spacing. All referred articles, books, and theses should be listed in alphabetical order giving the author's surname first followed by initials.

Books: Single Author : Chomsky, Noam. 1999. The New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Books:
Books:More than one Author: Berridge, G. R. and Alan James. 2001. A Dictionary of Diplomacy. New York: Palgrave.
Edited : Singh, Jasjit. ed. 1998. Nuclear India. New Delhi: Knowledge World and IDSA.

Articles:
In Book : Subrahmanyam, K. 1998. 'Indian Nuclear Policy – 1964-98', in Jasjit Singh. ed., Nuclear India, New Delhi: Knowledge World and IDSA, pp. 26-52.
In Journal : Dubey, Muchkund. 2005. 'The Twelfth SAARC Summit: Deeper Integration in South Asia', South Asian Survey, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 21-34.

Internet Sources:
Ganguly, Sumit, 'India's Foreign Policy Grows Up', World Policy Journal, vol. XX, no. 4, Winter 2003/04, [Online: web] Accessed 20 January 2006 URL: http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj03-4/ganguly.html
11. Book reviews must contain name of author/editor and the book reviewed, place of publication and publisher, year of publication, number of pages and price.

All the manuscripts submitted for the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal (IFAJ) should accompany a covering letter giving an undertaking following certain principles under Ethical Policy.

The cover letter should include a written statement from the author(s) that:

1. The manuscript is an original research work and has not been published elsewhere including open access at the internet.

2. The data used in the research has not been manipulated, fabricated, or in any other way misrepresented to support the conclusions.

3. No part of the text of the manuscript has been plagiarised.

4. The manuscript is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

5. The manuscript will not be submitted elsewhere for review while it is still under consideration for publication in the IFAJ.

The cover letter should also include an ethical statement disclosing any conflict of interest that may directly or indirectly impart bias to the research work. Conflict of interest most commonly arises from the source of funding, and therefore, the name(s) of funding agency must be mentioned in the cover letter. In case of no conflict of interest, please include the statement that “the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest”.

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