Crossing The Rubicon: The Shaping Of India's New Foreign Policy

India's nuclear tests in May 1998 had reverberations that went far beyond the Thar desert. Jettisoned, as a result, were some key tenets of its foreign policy, in particular the traditional emphasis on idealism. As pragmatism took root in New Delhi, India renewed its global engagement with a rare sense of purpose and self-confidence and transformed its external relations. In Crossing the Rubicon, C. Raja Mohan narrates the story of India's successful diplomatic experimentation since the mid-1980s, one that has not been given its due.

Mohan, strategic affairs editor of the Hindu , examines the reworking of India's relations with the major powers at the turn of the twenty-first century. Notable are his behind-the-scenes accounts of India's initiative to transform its rapport with the United States, especially the Jaswant Singh–Strobe Talbott talks, and its rejuvenated relationship with post-Soviet Russia. He also examines India's management of its troubled relations with China, once a bothersome neighbour but now a power to contend with, and looks at war and peace with Pakistan, including the failed Agra summit.

What emerges is a remarkable tale of a country's transformation from being a leader of the Third World trade union to preparing for a seat at the high table of global diplomacy.