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This forum comes from a 2016 panel at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association. The forum participants offered mid-term assessments of the foreign policy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This forum considers whether Modi heralded in a new era in Indian foreign policy, or whether Modi’s policies just repackaged older policies. The authors in this forum answer these questions by focusing on a range of issues from the role of religion to economic issues, to the relations between India and major foreign partners. The authors conclude that while Modi has undeniably put a personal stamp on foreign policy, substantive changes have been minimal. The first significant change lies in the centralization of foreign policy decision-making in the Prime Minister’s Office. Second, while religious diplomacy played an important role, the version of Hinduism that Modi has adopted in foreign affairs is more inclusive than the one on display in domestic politics. Third, India’s foreign economic policy has adopted a distinct nationalist tone. Fourth, Modi has signaled a “neighborhood first” focus in foreign policy. Finally, despite attempts at imparting his personal stamp, India’s foreign policy towards major partners and in most issue areas remains substantively similar to those of the previous administrations. Este debate surgió a partir de un panel de la reunión anual de la Asociación de Estudios Internacionales realizada en 2016. Los participantes presentaron sus evaluaciones intermedias de la política exterior de Narendra Modi, primer ministro de India. El debate analiza si Modi instauró una nueva era en la política exterior india o si, por el contrario, simplemente les dio un lavado de cara a las políticas anteriores. Para responder estas preguntas, los autores del debate se centran en varias cuestiones: desde el papel que juega la religión y los problemas económicos hasta las relaciones entre India y sus principales aliados extranjeros. Los autores concluyen que si bien Modi puso su impronta personal en la política exterior, los cambios representativos han sido mínimos. El primer cambio significativo reside en la centralización de la toma de decisiones sobre temas de política exterior en la oficina del primer ministro. En segundo lugar, aunque la diplomacia religiosa tuvo un papel importante, la versión del hinduismo que adoptó Modi en la política exterior es más inclusiva que la que se muestra en las políticas nacionales. En tercer lugar, la política económica exterior de India ha incorporado un tono nacionalista distintivo. En cuarto lugar, Modi pone el foco en los países vecinos en lo que respecta a la política exterior. Por último, a pesar de los esfuerzos por darle su propia impronta, la política exterior de India sobre las principales áreas problemáticas y en lo que respecta a los aliados más importantes, no ha experimentado cambios relevantes en comparación con las administraciones anteriores. Le présent forum a comme origine un panel constitué en 2016 lors de l’assemblée annuelle de l’International Studies Association. Les participants du forum ont proposé des évaluations à mi-mandat de Narendra Modi, ministre indien des Affaires étrangères. La question est de savoir si M. Modi s’est fait le héraut d’une nouvelle ère dans la politique étrangère de l’Inde ou s’il n’a fait que présenter d’anciennes politiques sous un nouveau jour. Les auteurs de ce forum abordent la question en réfléchissant à diverses problématiques, du rôle de la religion aux problèmes économiques en passant par les relations entre l’Inde et ses partenaires étrangers principaux. Les auteurs concluent que si Modi a indéniablement imprimé sa marque sur la politique étrangère du pays, les changements de fond sont restés mineurs. Le premier changement d’importance est le recentrage du processus de prise de décisions en politique étrangère sur le portefeuille du Premier Ministre. Le deuxième changement, opéré dans un contexte où la diplomatie religieuse joue un rôle important, est l’adoption d’une version de l’hindouisme plus solidaire en politique étrangère que celle qui est affichée en politique intérieure. Le troisième est l’apport d’une touche nettement nationaliste à la politique économique étrangère. Le quatrième est l’annonce par Modi d’une politique étrangère axée en priorité sur les « pays limitrophes ». Enfin, et en dépit des tentatives de Modi d’imprimer sa marque personnelle, la politique étrangère de l’Inde envers ses partenaires principaux et dans la plupart des domaines reste en substance similaire à celle des administrations précédentes.

What if the next world superpower was India, not China? With its 1.4 billion inhabitants, India is already the most populous country in the world. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India has embraced both ultra-productivity and ultra-nationalism. Everything that happens in the world happens in India on a much larger scale. In the past decade, Modi has transformed and reshaped the country: for the better according to his supporters, for the worse according to his opponents. India is now the fifth largest economy in the world and has democratized access to technology. No one can deny the scale of the country’s social, political and cultural transformation. Slowly but surely, Modi is positioning India as a counter- balance to the West. He has silenced his opponents, rewritten the national narrative to the point of erasing whole swathes of its own history and created a new apartheid. But India, which often seems so distant and far removed from our preoccupations, has also become the magnifying glass of global challenges. The strategic choices made by Narendra Modi to manage his population of 1.4 billion reflect our own choices on a global scale. For it is also in India that the solutions to many of the world’s problems are to be found.

This review article analyses the wide-ranging influence of Hindutva in Indian politics over the decade of Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister of India. The study analyses the survival, reproduction, and development of Hindutva in conflict with modernisation processes in India despite the country’s secular constitutional democracy. This is achieved by examining the developments in the Indian political landscape and policy administration through the prism of the symbiotic relationship between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), signalling the fusion of political power and Hindu religious principles. By contributing to the literature on religion and politics, through a comprehensive examination of political rhetoric, policy shifts, and societal attitudes, this review article examines the role of Hindutva in shaping the trajectory of governance and politics in India during Narendra Modi’s leadership.

This article introduces the special issue on Narendra Modi and India’s foreign policy. It observes that there is little consensus about the effectiveness of the Modi government’s management of international relations. Some argue that since it first came to power in May 2014 it has transformed India’s foreign policy and proved far more successful than its predecessors in handling the country’s key relationships and challenges. Others contend that India’s basic strategy is unchanged and that New Delhi’s position is weaker today in important areas, notably regarding China and Pakistan than it was under earlier regimes. This article introduces this debate and the analytical questions addressed in the special issue concerning the extent of prime ministerial autonomy in foreign policymaking, the role of ideas and ideology, and the question of how far India’s agency is constrained by structural impediments, both in its immediate region and further afield.

Administrative \"success\" or \"failure\" during the pandemic are hard to assess given uncertainties both of criteria and of data. But there can be no doubt about the mishandling of the pandemic at crucial junctures by the Indian government, or about the culpability of prime minister Narendra Modi himself. He has this in common with other \"strongmen\" of contemporary world politics, but Modi was unusually successful in turning the events of the pandemic to reinforce his dominance. The immediate political factors that influenced the Indian response had to do with political leadership and with the \"decisionism\" that characterised Modi's actions, but in the context of the pursuit of the goals of Hindu nationalism. This article explains the responses of the Indian government drawing on a framework based on the comparative analysis of Baum and her co-authors. It shows how the events of the pandemic reflect on India's politics and on the character of the Indian state, using a state-in-society approach suggested by the interlocking arguments of Migdal, Mann and Evans. This highlights and explains the very different responses of the major states of the country.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi uses self-reflexive symbols. He called himself Watchman and weaved a campaign around it. This article sees Modi's campaign alongside Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of Religious Life : emergence of Modi's Watchman image as a totem, emergence of a clan of believers, collective effervescence, coming of a civilising hero, and Modi becoming a great god. The totem and the clan ‘disappeared’ on the last day of the elections. Only the great god remained to resurrect in millions of banners in public spaces saying: ‘Thank you, PM Modi’. This journey of this Dionysian election campaign with emotive symbols and meticulously planned spectacles built an illusion of a society with religion in its elementary form replacing the modern society for the election period.

This article argues that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s neighbourhood policy is deeply influenced by three factors: its ideological moorings, its domestic political calculations and the aggressive nature of the government. The article also argues that these three drivers of the Modi’s government’s regional policy have undergone a noticeable change during the second term. While the impact of these three variables on Modi 1.0 was more pronounced, their impact on Modi 2.0 has evidently subsided. This suggests a course correction in the government of India’s regional policy. The article also suggests that this course correction is a result of the rise of China in the region and the pushback by India’s South Asian neighbours.

After becoming the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi made many efforts to consolidate his dominance in South Asia and expand India’s influence in the Indian Ocean. The “neighborhood first policy” was highlighted in India’s foreign policy. Based on historical and logical research methods and studies in international relations, the paper aims to examine the implementation of “neighborhood first policy” through bilateral relations between India and its neighboring countries. These relationships have been facing challenges from the more profound influence and interference of China as well as frequent terrorist incidents due to border disputes, which threatened regional security. Although this policy connected India with its neighboring South Asian countries, there were still challenges. It can be seen that the “neighborhood first policy” was Prime Minister Modi’s effort to nurture bilateral relationships, enhance regional connectivity, and strengthen and elevate India’s position in the region. The progress of the “Neighborhood First” policy is expected to continue more successfully in the next phase.

Este artigo analisa um conjunto de matérias publicadas nos jornais portugueses e indianos em redor das viagens do primeiro-ministro português António Costa à Índia em janeiro de 2017 e em dezembro de 2019. Pretende-se escrutinar como, por um lado, são apresentados a Índia e o seu primeiro-ministro, Narendra Modi, na imprensa portuguesa e, por outro, observar o sentido e o tom dos textos publicados na imprensa indiana referentes a Portugal e a António Costa. Quais os enquadramentos mediáticos e qual a linguagem dos atores políticos e dos meios jornalísticos no decorrer destas viagens? Quais as afinidades e quais os contrastes nos textos que circulam no medium impresso entre o período colonial e o presente pós-colonial? Será a cobertura das imprensas portuguesa e indiana deste início do século XXI indicativa de algum ressentimento pós-colonial nas relações hoje estabelecidas entre a Índia e Portugal ou estarão os interesses comerciais e tecnológicos a obnubilar esse passado do domínio imperial português no subcontinente indiano? This article analyses a series of articles published in Portuguese and Indian newspapers concerning the business trips of Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa to India in January 2017 and December 2019. It aims to scrutinise how, on the one hand, India and his Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, are presented in the Portuguese press and, on the other, how Portugal and António Costa are portrayed in the Indian press. What are the media frameworks and the language used by political actors and journalists during these trips? What are the affinities and the contrasts in the texts which circulate in the printed press in the colonial and in post-colonial periods? Does the coverage in the Portuguese and Indian presses at the beginning of the 21st century give us any indication of some post-colonial resentment in the current relations between India and Portugal? Or are commercial and technological interests overshadowing this past of Portuguese imperial rule in the Indian subcontinent?