# The History and Making of Indian Diplomacy — Vineet Thakur

An episode of [The IR thinker](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1716817337), 8 Dec 2025, 1 h 01 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914/e/693724fbfe31b2ca09e09af7/media.mp3

In this episode, Vineet Thakur unpacks the historical and intellectual foundations of Indian diplomacy. We discuss classical strategic traditions, civilisational and colonial legacies, caste and elite networks in diplomatic culture, non-alignment and strategic autonomy, neighbourhood diplomacy, and India’s contemporary practice of multi-alignment amid shifting great-power rivalries. Vineet Thakur is a University Lecturer in International Relations at the Institute for History, Leiden University. He received his doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in 2014 and has held academic positions and fellowships across India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. His professional experience includes teaching appointments at Ambedkar University Delhi, the University of Johannesburg, and the School of Oriental and African Studies, following which he joined Leiden University in 2017. He has been a fellow at the University of Cambridge, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, and Rhodes University. His research is situated in postcolonial international relations, with a particular focus on the politics of knowledge, disciplinary hierarchies, and the global intellectual history of International Relations, especially in the Indian context. Selected Publications • V.S. Srinivasa Sastri: A Liberal Life • India’s First Diplomat: V.S. Srinivasa Sastri and the Making of Liberal Internationalism • Postscripts on Independence: Foreign Policy Discourses in India and South Africa Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Framing of India’s Diplomatic Trajectories 02:03 Mandala Theory and Kautilya’s Arthashastra as Lenses for Contemporary Regional Policy 05:10 Intellectual and Historical Inspirations Behind India’s Diplomatic Traditions 06:32 Civilisational State Narratives Versus Colonial Administrative Foundations of Indian Diplomacy 10:53 Social Stratification and the Influence of Caste Networks on Diplomatic Recruitment and Culture 22:12 Nehruvian Idealism and Non-Alignment as Strategy: Autonomy, Hedging, and Principled Neutrality 27:55 Overlooked and Marginalised Practices in India’s Cold War Diplomatic History 30:30 The Strategic Logic and Practical Outcomes of the “Neighbourhood First” Diplomatic Doctrine 35:18 Structural Constraints and Policy Stalemate in India–Pakistan Diplomatic Engagement 37:34 China’s Strategic Shadow and Its Effects on India’s Diplomatic Posture Towards Pakistan 39:08 India’s Diplomatic Approach to Tibet in Historical and Contemporary Perspective 43:29 Multi-Alignment as Strategy: Balancing Great Powers in India’s Contemporary Foreign Policy 47:45 The Absence of a Permanent United Nations Security Council Seat and Its Diplomatic Consequences 51:15 India–Africa Relations and the Underdeveloped Economic Dimension of South–South Diplomacy 54:21 Hindu Nationalism and Its Influence on the Ideational Foundations of Indian Diplomacy 58:24 Neglected Themes and Under-Researched Domains in the Study of Indian Foreign Policy *** at 10:29, there is a missing word ‘overstated’ Follow & Further Resources Substack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theirthinker/ X: https://x.com/theirthinker Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theirthinker/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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