Grand strategy studies continue to expand as more attempts are being made to bring clarity to its theoretical conceptualization and distinguish it from other, narrower conceptual approaches to policy-making. This article applies some of the theoretical findings from a recent study of Russia's grand strategy to the analysis of the country's policy towards the Asia-Pacific. This conceptualization is then used to explore the India-Russia bilateral relationship in order to define the causes of its current stagnation. The paper argues that the non-implementation of the Russian grand strategy in the Asia-Pacific is one of the reasons for the inertia in Moscow's "special and privileged strategic partnership" with New Delhi.

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Ed.), Is Non-Western Democracy Possible?A Russian Perspective (Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 2017), 738 pp., US $120 (Hardback).This edited volume, containing in-depth analysis of political systems across Africa and Asia across sixteen chapters, adds to the growing volume of literature in area studies and international relations regarding the western liberal model of democracy and whether the values espoused therein can be applied universally without accounting for local factors.Through an exploration of how political cultures develop in different countries, the book covers a vast geographical area in its quest to answer the central question of the book-Is non-western democracy possible? In the very first chapter, the theoretical foundations are laid down-which deal in detail about the differences between western and eastern societies. Various forms of government are discussedbeing classified as belonging to social order of limited or open access while detailing how some are unable to achieve the latter status due to 'problems of primarily internal character'. The impact of values, tradition, economy, religion, culture and political development on the modernization of a society and institutions is deeply emphasized.The opening piece sets the tone for the rest of the chapters that follow-each carefully dissecting the political systems of various countries of Africa, West Asia and other parts of Asia. For instance, the conflict between European institutions and traditional African social democracy is revealed to account for unstable regimes that are only now slowly reforming their political and economic structures. Also, it is noted that while African countries might have adopted similar political institutions borrowed from the west, it does not mean they have also matured uniformly or followed the same path of development.Like Africa, local tradition, religion and culture among Arab states have been found by scholars in the book to have a lasting impact on how political institutions have evolved in the West Asian region. Even though institutions like the legislature and parties have been established in some Arab states, they remain weak. The steps taken for evolution towards democracy remain limited due to factors like monopoly of a single party, control of elites, influence of advisory councils and so on. Popular support for governments is only now slowly becoming important, which along with setting up of institutions that will open up political culture (parliamentary government in Bahrain, post of prime minister in Qatar, use of courts in electoral processes and so on) create a hope for the future. As of now, International Studies 55(1) 75-86 2018 Jawaharlal Nehru University SAGE Publications sagepub.in/home.nav