Event Report

As part of our regular private roundtable discussion series on Foreign Policy, Brookings India hosted a discussion on the book ” Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy” by Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings and India’s former National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary. The discussion was moderated by Dhruva Jaishankar, Fellow for Foreign Policy at Brookings India.

Ambassador Menon highlights five pivotal foreign policy cases in his book which include the decision to not use overt military force against Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the civil nuclear deal with the United States, the border agreement with China, Indian response to Sri Lanka’s civil war and India’s No First Use Nuclear Policy. The discussion focused on the intricacies and processes involved in making each of these decisions. Foreign policy decisions are not binary choices and cannot be narrowly defined in terms of right or wrong; they are largely dependent on the situation and circumstances at hand. However, each of the choices discussed in the book showcase the nature of India’s power and its likely nature in the future. Drawing from past experience therefore, the discussion attempted to provide insights to the Indian foreign policy establishment for future engagement.

Like other products of the Brookings Institution India Center, this report is intended to contribute to discussion and stimulate debate on important issues. The views are of the author(s). Brookings India does not have any institutional views.

Event Announcement

Brookings India is organising an expert roundtable discussion on the book, “Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy” by Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow at Brookings and India’s former National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary. Ambassador Menon highlights five pivotal foreign policy cases in his book, which include the decision to not use overt military force against Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the civil nuclear deal with the United States, the border agreement with China, Indian response to Sri Lanka’s civil war and India’s No First Use Nuclear Policy. The discussion will focus on the intricacies of these decisions and lessons for the Indian foreign policy establishment for future engagement.

This event is by-invitation only.