WHAT IS FOREIGN POLICY ? || WHAT IS DEFFRENACE BETWEEN FOREIGN POLICY AND DIPLOMACY ? || WHAT IS DATERMINATES /FACTORS OF FOREIGN POLICY

 What is Foreign Policy?

• A foreign policy is a set of pre-established strategies designed and implemented systems to manage a country's relationship with other nations. 
• Hermann defines foreign policy as the behaviour of States.
• According to George Modelski," foreign policy is the system of activities evolved by communities for changing the behaviour of other states and for adjusting their own activities to the international environment " .
• It is important to point out that Modelski only noted those aspects of policy that aim at changing the existing behaviour of states as, the primary goal of foreign policy. In the words of Padelford and Lincoln " A State's Foreign Policy is the totality of its dealings with the external environment ".

Therefore, foreign Policy is the overall result of the process by which a State translates its broadly conceived goals and interests into specific courses of action in order to achieve its objectives and preserve its interest. Definition of foreign policy also includes the difference between foreign Policy and Diplomacy. Most often they are perceived as the same, however, they are each other. foreign policy is " What you do ", on the other hand, Diplomacy is " How you do it ".

•  In other words; Diplomacy is the instrument through which foreign policy is implemented.

Determinants/factors of foreign policy.

1. Geography

The primary determinant is the geography of any country. The location, size and shape of the country are the main geographical factors influencing foreign policy.

• The location of the Indian subcontinent at the head of the Indian Ocean and as a connecting link between South - East Asia and West Asia has always influenced the foreign policy of the Indian subcontinent. The crisscrossing of busy trade lanes near the southern shores of India makes it a key player in the Indian Ocean region
• The security and peace in the region , from the Horn of Africa to the Strait of Malacca affects the fortunes of the Indian subcontinent, due to its location factor
• The issues of piracy near the Horn of Africa, drug trafficking from Golden Triangle ( Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand ) and Golden Crescent ( Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan ), terrorism ( the epicentre of which is in the neighbouring country ) affect the Indian foreign policy formulation because of the physical contiguity of India to these problematic areas.
• Similarly, the size of India is another geographical factor affecting our foreign policy. The vast size of the country makes it a potential regional leader as it has the major portion of the mineral resources, arable land and the vast coastline rich in marine resources, in the South Asian region.
• The vast size makes India, a neighbour to a large number of countries. On land borders, it has China, Nepal, Bhutan in the north, Myanmar, Bangladesh in the east, and Pakistan in the west while on maritime borders it has Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• This vast size, thus, presents us both opportunities ( to develop relations with neighbours) and challenges ( to manage all these bilateral relations simultaneously )

2. History History

History History of India is also an abiding influence on the foreign policy of the country. The invasion from the North-West frontiers of the Indian subcontinent has bothered the Indian policymakers since times immemorial. The invasion by Alexander from Khyber Pass, the coming of Mongols, Mughals from this route testifies the vulnerability of the Indian subcontinent. 

• This concern of the colonial rulers to defend the North-West borders led to the creation of Afghanistan as a buffer state between the Russian empire and the British Indian empire. After independence, the acknowledged non-aligned status of Afghanistan was readily accepted by India. And, the subsequent attempts by India to befriend Afghanistan to deny Pakistan the ' Strategic Depth ' (The use of Afghan territory to train anti - India elements and make it a springboard for launching low-intensity conflicts in Kashmir and other parts of India ) are lessons of history that if India keeps Afghanistan in its friend list a lot of trouble can be avoided. The latest steps to help in the reconstruction of the Afghan state and its inclusion in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC ) are a continuum in the historical chain for the quest of Indian security.
• Similarly, the national freedom struggle has its imprint in the evolution of Indian leaderships' foreign policy outlook. Anti - imperial, anti-racial and democratic outlook of the national leaders, starting from Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahatma Gandhi to the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Nehru, was a result of the historic freedom struggle . ?
• The liberal ideas of freedom, equality and fraternity were the foundation stones of our national freedom struggle and the struggle was waged by using the tools of Satya and ahimsa which were an inseparable part of the Indian civilization history.
• This outlook was reflected in the foreign policy outlook of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru.
•  In the initial years of the foreign policy of the Republic of India, these ideas were a guiding force as reflected in Pandit Nehru's proposals for a peaceful and democratic world order enunciated at the fora of Asian relations conference 1947, Afro Asian Conference at Bandung in 1955 , and the proposal for nuclear disarmament in 1954.

3. Culture

•  Indian culture spanning almost 5000 years also impact the foreign policymaking of the country. The cultural traditions of Shrutis and DharmaShastras, Buddhist and Jains traditions of peace and nonviolence as well as Arthshashtra tradition of realpolitik show their influence on the evolution of India's foreign policy at various stages of development.
• The adoption of non-alignment as a policy stance can be traced to the cultural tradition of judging issues on their own merits and deciding accordingly without any preconceived bias. bio
• The policy of nonalignment had the grains of Arthshashtra traditions of realpolitik as well as it suited the exigencies of the post-independence era. At that point in time, India was not in a strong position and it required economic and technical assistance from all possible partners.
• Similarly, the policy of peaceful coexistence and Panchsheel is a reflection of Buddhist and Jain traditions. non - violence Nehruvian policy of peaceful rise of India was a derivative of this deep cultural legacy. 1954 proposal by Nehru at the UN general assembly for universal disarmament was for furthering the goal of peaceful world order. • This policy stance has continued till date as India continues to aspire for world peace and security as also enshrined in the Indian constitution in Article 51. would stab Further, the anti-imperial and anti-racial stance of Indian Foreign Policy is an offshoot of Indian culture of religious harmony and treating all individuals equally.
• India has been a land accommodating all the persecuted, religious and ethnic minorities from different parts of the world at different points in time. The coming of Syrian Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, and their peaceful and successful assimilation in the Indian society points to the adoption of the post-independence posture of anti-racialism as a fundamental principle of our foreign policy.

4. International Environment.

Foreign policymaking is done in the light of prevailing conditions in international politics.

• The post-independence foreign policy of India had an unmistakable reflection of the post-second world war world politics.
• During this time India wanted to secure its territorial integrity and strive for technical and economic development. , This required assistance from all developed countries without falling into the trap of the cold war. Therefore, the policy of maintaining equidistance from all major powers and non confront approach was very much needed to secure India's peaceful economic development.
• With the changing scenario in world politics, we also have to adjust our foreign policy accordingly. The manoeuvring by the western powers on the Kashmir issue, joining of CEATO and CENTO by Pakistan and war with China pushed us closer to the Soviet Union to secure our territorial defence.
•  The Indo - soviet friendship treaty of 1971 was thus dictated more by the prevailing international environment than any desire on part of India to be a part of any block fighting the cold war.
•  This continuum of adjusting to the international environment was further reflected after the end of the cold war. Reorientation of India's foreign policy and adoption of look east policy was necessitated by the fall of the Soviet Union, which worked as a balancer in international politics. With this balance gone India had to move swiftly to develop its relations with all major powers. The evolution of Indo US and India EU relations in the post cold war period affirms the adjustments in Indian foreign policy due to changes in the international political environment.

5. Personality factor

• The calibre of the leadership and orientation of foreign policymakers also affects the foreign policy of a country. The Munero Doctrine was an aggressive foreign policy strategy of the US while the Wilsonian doctrine of self-determination put forward in the post World War I background were different policies adopted by different leaders from the same country. Similarly, Winston Churchill adopted a hostile stance towards India's independence but Clement Atlee reversed this policy and favoured granting independence to India, showing the importance of personality factors in foreign policymaking.
• It was Nehru's towering personality that pushed India to adopt universal disarmament and Panchsheel as its foreign policy principles. Nehru's grip on international affairs gave India a respectable place in the community of nations during the 1950s, whether it was the Korean crisis of 1950 or the issue of admission of new members to the UN in 1954. IK Gujral's "Gujral Doctrine" and A B Vajpayee's decision for going nuclear were decisions taken by these leaders on the back of their personal motivations and sound understanding of Indian Foreign policy. Thus, the foreign policy of India in its evolution has been handmade by its leaders and decision-makers.

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