"India is often said to have a rich strategic culture." Discuss. (UPSC CSE Mains 2018 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 2)
The concept of strategic culture has been first given by Jack Snyder.
- It has been defined as the ‘ability of the people and the society to generate power; and to have the social will and ability for a full and effective use of that power’.
- The sources of the strategic culture of a nation state are its history, geography, national culture, politics etc. Therefore, states may have different strategic cultures pertaining to the differences in these factors.
India’s Strategic Culture
- Ancient source of strategic culture-Kautilya''s Arthashastra, an ancient treatise on statecraft, contains provisions of proactive strategic measures to be undertaken by a pragmatic ruler. Henry Kissinger in his book World Order acknowledged India''s strategic culture.
- Acharya and Buzan give special importance to the case of Jawaharlal Nehru, as he was recognised both within India and in the world, as a thinker in his own right, rather than simply as a political strategist. He organised the Asian Relations Conferences of 1947 and 1949, contributing to the cause of decolonisation and unity of global South.
- More recently Dr. S. Jaishankar ("The India Way”, chapter “Krishna’s choice'''') : talked about the rich strategic culture of India with reference to Mahabharata. Mahabharat talks about tactical compromises, Balance of Power , diplomacy , alliances which has been practising in managing its relations with other countries.
Several instances that indicate India posses a rich strategic culture are →
- Shiv Shankar Menon held that Indian not only has a strategic culture of its own, but has practised it consistently in its bilateral relations and multilateral arena. ○ Opting for non-alignment to preserve strategic autonomy in a bipolar world ○ Entering into Treaty of Friendship with USSR,1971 to counter emerging US-Pak-China axis ○ Showing the will to use force for clearly defined political ends when the cause is just, once it is clear that diplomacy’s potential is exhausted, internally in Goa and Hyderabad and externally in 1971, in Sri Lanka and the Maldives at the request of their governments. ○ Going nuclear capable to restore balance of power with China
- India is also working to counter the Chinese String of Pearls in the Indian Ocean by formulating a new maritime doctrine (Ensuring Safe Seas, 2015) and declaring Freedom of Navigation as National Interest.
- It is working to build QUAD as democratic security diamond as well as relying on self-help initiatives like SAGAR, IORA, IONS and Malabar exercises with like-minded countries.
- Adoption of Doval Doctrine-More recently, India has adopted the Doval Doctrine based on defensive offence and its working on the vulnerabilities of Pakistan also reflects India’s strategic culture.
There are certain core traits of Indian strategic culture that have persisted since independence despite shifts in India’s strategic foreign and security policies during and after the Cold War, and not withstanding the gathering momentum of the forces of globalisation. It would be wrong to say India doesn''t have a strategic culture. Rather it is an orientalist view of international relations and theory of foreign policy that needs correction (Amitav Acharya and Barry Buzan).
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