Pax Indica : India and the world of the 21st century / Shashi Tharoor.

Revisiting the tryst with destiny
Brother enemy
Tough neighbourhood
China and India : competition, cooperation or conflict?
India's near abroad : the Arab world and the rest of India
Familiar lands and uncharted territories : Europe, Africa and Latin America
Hard challenge of soft power and public diplomacy
"Eternal affairs : the domestic underpinnings of foreign policy
India, the UN and the "Global commons" the multilateral imperative
"Multi-alignment: towards' Grand strategy for India in the twenty-first century

"Indian diplomacy," a veteran told Shashi Tharoor many years ago, "is like the love- making of an elephant: it is conducted at a very high level, accompanied by much bellowing, and the results are not known for two years." In this lively, informative and insightful work, the award-winning author and parliamentarian brilliantly demonstrates how Indian diplomacy has become sprightlier since then and where it needs to focus in the 21st century. Explaining why foreign policy matters to an India focused on its own domestic transformation, Tharoor surveys the country's major international relationships, evokes its soft power and global responsibilities, analyses the workings of the Ministry of External Affairs and parliament and assesses the impact of public opinion on government policy. Indeed, Tharoor presents his ideas about a contemporary new grand strategy for the nation, arguing that India must move beyond "non-alignment" to "multi-alignment". This book sets out a clear vision of an India now ready to assume global responsibility in the contemporary world. Pax Indica is another substantial achievement from one of our finest Indian authors. Shashi Tharoor is the prize-winning author of ten works of fiction and non-fiction and a widely published critic, commentator and columnist (for The Hindu, Times of India and Newsweek, among others). In 2007 he concluded a nearly twenty-nine-year career at the United Nations, during which he worked for refugees in South-east Asia at the peak of the boat people crisis and handled peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia. Latterly, Tharoor occupied the role of Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information and in 2006 he was nominated as India's candidate for UN Secretary-General, emerging as strong second out of seven contenders. Publisher's note