India's "Strategic Autonomy" Doctrine in Foreign Policy
India has historically pursued a doctrine of strategic autonomy — maintaining independent foreign policy positions rather than aligning with any single bloc. This doctrine, rooted in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) tradition dating to the 1955 Bandung Conference, allows India to simultaneously maintain relations with countries on opposing sides of a conflict. In the context of West Asia, India has trade, diplomatic, and energy ties with Iran, the Gulf Arab states, and Israel simultaneously.
- India was a founding member of the NAM (1961, Belgrade) and has consistently voted for "dialogue and diplomacy" over military escalation in UN forums
- The doctrine distinguishes India's "issue-based alignment" from the Cold War logic of permanent bloc membership
- Strategic autonomy allows India to engage with Iran on the Chabahar Port project (access to Afghanistan and Central Asia) while deepening defence and technology cooperation with Israel
- This same autonomy occasionally draws criticism from all sides — the US for not sanctioning Iran, and Iran-aligned nations for not condemning US-Israeli strikes
● Tracked since March 09, 2026 · last seen May 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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