Brand India or "Pax Indica"? The myth of assertive posturing in India's Post-1998 foreign policy making

Commentators have long insisted that India's 1998 nuclear tests mark an important juncture in the country's international affairs. This paper therefore offers a much needed discursive assessment of India's post-1998 foreign policy. The claim is that the country's international outlook is largely shaped by the domestic discourse on national insecurities. Foreign policy statements thereby become discursive platforms both for the manifestation of national self-positioning on the international arena and the recontextualization of historical narratives. Yet, despite the strategic assertiveness of these narratives, New Delhi has failed to provide a viable Indian vision for world order. Instead, there appears to be a palpable uncertainty about what "Pax Indica" stands for and whether it should be pursued through the paraphernalia of "Brand India." As a result, New Delhi's international image has few appealing attributes that other countries might be tempted to emulate.