India's Approach to Great-Power Status
Fletcher Forum of World Affairs Journal, Vol. 35, Issue 1
Posted: 28 May 2013
Date Written: Winter 2011
Abstract
This article explores the meaning of great-power status to India’s governing elites and traces how they have pursued their goal of becoming a legitimate great power over several decades. It argues that India's distinctive approach to great-power status reflects its experience of past vulnerability, relative social exclusion from great-power politics, and sense that it has been denied respect commensurate with its status as world's largest democracy, leading anti-colonial vanguard, and burgeoning economic market. The article concludes by exploring some of the implications of India's approach for U.S. foreign policy as American policymakers seek to build a constructive partnership with India going forward.
Keywords: India, great power, U.S. foreign policy
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