Friends: India’s Closest Strategic Partners – Sreeram Chaulia

In a deeply fractured global landscape marked by rising turmoil, shifting alliances, and systemic uncertainty, how does India navigate its foreign policy to achieve its goal of becoming a "leading power"? In Friends: India’s Closest Strategic Partners, renowned international relations expert Dr. Sreeram Chaulia delivers a masterfully analytical, one-of-a-kind exploration of the complex web of geopolitics and strategic diplomacy that is shaping India's future trajectory in world affairs.

Moving past standard diplomatic generalities, Dr. Chaulia tackles the hard-hitting, high-stakes questions that define modern statecraft. He examines what kind of power India is today, how common adversaries and shared security threats factor into its external coordination, and what its partners stand to gain in return. Most importantly, the book addresses a critical contemporary dilemma: Can India continue to successfully juggle strategic partnerships with countries in opposing, fiercely competitive camps—such as the USA and Russia—or will intensifying international pressures eventually force it to convert these flexible friendships into formal, binding military alliances?

Through meticulously researched case studies, the book provides an in-depth breakdown of India's multi-aligned foreign policy across seven vital bilateral relationships: