No abstract

Asymmetrical power relations and India's contested leadership in South Asia are two major impediments to ensuring peace and stability in, and integration of, the region. After having unsuccessfully tested the hard power approach to impose its will in the region, India has turned towards soft power. It now tries to rebuild its positive image in the region and attract more neighbours into a vision of shared prosperity and peace through soft power. This essay presents an overview of the most recent initiatives aimed at improving India's soft power in its neighbourhood and attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy. It finds that despite some flaws in this approach, it could bring tangible positive effects and has the potential to transform relations in South Asia in the long run.

This article examines how the emergence of 'illiberal democracy' in Hungary and Poland has impacted the behaviour of these two countries in the EU's international development policy making processes. Adapting Hirschmann's concepts of voice, exit and loyalty, the article argues that three factors may have undermined the loyalty of these member states towards EU development policy, increasing the likelihood of them using more extreme forms of voice (vetoes) or even enact partial exits from the policy area. Erosion of loyalty is seen to be more likely if (1) illiberalism actually impacts bilateral development policies in the two countries; (2) they have poor track records in influencing EU development policy; and (3) alternatives to EU level action emerge. Applying this framework, a greater erosion of loyalty is expected in the case of Hungary than for Poland. Hungary's recent actions in EU development policy are in line with the expectations from the framework: it has increasingly been using more extreme forms of voice following the 2015 refugee crisis, while Poland has been a less 'problematic' member state in the policy area.

No abstract

The end of the Cold War and subsequent geo-political developments had transformative impact on India’s relations with the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Consequently, India and CEE countries recalibrated their foreign policies, but changed external orientations did not augment their bilateral relationships. Their political interactions became less frequent and economic linkages relatively modest. Despite a positive mutual perception, cultural and people-to-people contacts are not so vibrant and extensive. Since the 1990s, India and CEE have registered reasonably impressive economic growth. They have been pursuing economic reforms and taking initiatives for building digital and physical infrastructure for facilitating further growth and development and greater integration with the global economy. Therefore, an urge for enhancing India–CEE partnership now seems gradually gaining momentum, and positive measures, new synergies have been evolving. India’s multiple programmes ranging from ‘Make in India’, ‘Clean India’ to Skill India’ offer opportunities for enhancing cooperation. While taking a brief account of historical relationship between India and the CEE, the article analyses contemporary status of their relations. Finally, it examines the untapped potential of India–CEE cooperation, major challenges and prospective policy orientations.