India: Emerging Power

by Stephen Philip Cohen

Book Overview

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For years, Americans have seen India as a giant but inept state. That negative image is now obsolete. After a decade of drift and uncertainty, India is taking its expected place as one of the three major states of Asia. Its pluralist, secular democracy has allowed the rise of hitherto deprived castes and ethnic communities. Economic liberalization is gathering steam, with six percent annual growth and annual exports in excess of $30 billion. India...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815715013
• ISBN13: 9780815715016
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 377 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

India's Quest for Great Power Status

Stephen P Cohen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and is their resident expert on South Asian strategic studies. Not only has he lived in Dehli for a number of years, he speaks Hindi and he has some unique insights as to how foreign policy is shaped inside the government based on his contacts with some of the key individuals. I have heard Cohen speak (English) on several occaisions and was impressed with the breadth and depth of his knowledge of South Asia. In this book, Cohen details some of the world views of India's leadership during the 1990s. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power and along with it came a new outlook on India's role in the world. The old school were the Nehruvians of the Congress Party (left-centrist), whose outlook was mainly anticolonial, socialist central planning and advocacy of third-world solidarity against Cold War blocs. The new "center-right realist" school, represented by Jaswant Singh and KC Pant realized the world had changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. The new world order was shaped by economics, and from economic strength comes military power. The new government knew that it had to open its economy to international competition in order to achieve the growth rates needed to lift their population out of poverty. No small task since about half of the world's poor are in India. They found China's example encouraging. The BJP opened up their foreign policy establishment to input by outsiders such as journalists, academics, and even military personnel. The old Congress Party was always very secretive about their decision making process for fear of a military coup. It was also amazing that the BJP was tolerant of alternative views since some of its coalition partners were so intolerant - think of Shiv Sena, led by the notorious Bal Thackeray. Today the BJP is no longer in power, the Congress Party is back in power, but it is no longer the same Congress Party - it too now is a believer in benefits of open markets. The liberalization of the economy naturally brought India and the US closer together. America's support of Pakistan has always been a sore point in the relationship, but India now reluctantly accepts the fact that a stable Pakistan is in everyone's best interest, given the nuclear saber rattling that took place in 1998. The US is by far India's largest trading partner, and the impact that the two countries (the world's two largest democracies) have had on each other is profound. Many of the high-tech startups in Silicon Valley have been created by Indian engineers and funded by Indian money. The Indian-American community of 2 million is the single most affluent ethnic group in the US. Many go back to India with their American experiences and recreate the successes. There are now more IT scientists and engineers in Bangalore than in Silicon Valley. Geostrategically, India will remain bogged down as a regional power as long as the problem of Kashmir festers

great resource on India since 47

As India became an independent nation in 1947, it became the world's second largest country in population and the world's larges democracies. Cohen in India:Emerging Power looks at how India has been advancing since 1947. Cohen looks at the different influences on India such as non-alliance, the Nehru view, and the Gandhi view. Cohen also deals deals with India's interactions with other countries such as the Soviet Union and later Russia, United States, Africa, China and other South Asian countries. Cohen also looks at some of the more well known issues of India such as its military. It relied on Soviet Aid for a long time but was never able to get as much as it wanted. Cohen looks at American influences on the Indian military and its desire to become an arms exporter. Cohen also looks at India's nuclear program and its relations with Pakistan. He goes through the history of the conflict and how nuclear weapons. It also deals with INdia's relations to the United states and about how the two countries can work togheter.

One of the best Review about South Asia

Its one of the best book in the market about South Asia And i agree with the author that India is going to be a Power in South AsiaAs USA and the free World have one thing common with India and that is Democracy and to work hard and live in a civilized world

A useful, albeit optimistic, study of India's role

The reviews up so far don't sound as if they are responding to the academic and policy value of Cohen's book. India: Emerging Power is an elegantly written, wide-ranging study of India's regional and global role. While (perhaps) a little overoptimistic about India's likely future success, Cohen assesses Indian diplomacy past, current strengths and weaknesses, and the way in which the US ought to engage India. Overall, Cohen comes out in favour of a closer US engagement with India - for positive reasons. The only drawback is that a second edition, post 9/11 and the 2002 Indo-Pak crisis, is needed - for much has changed, and India is close to achieving the regional dominance it demands. I highly recommend this book.

Good recognition to a sleeping super power

After reading this book, it is certain that author is not a newabout India and has knowledge of every aspects of indian attitudeand why it is poised to become to become a power to reckon with.India has not only succeded in providing the world best technology savvy people but also a ground where ideal thoughts have been originated such as Hinduism, Budhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Not only that india is a land of respect for all religion and various possible thoughts that a human being can have. Certainly world has to know about India through this book.