Book Review: India and Asian Geopolitics by Shivshakar Menon - A Heavyweight’s Perspective on India’s Role in a Shifting Asian Order

 

Cover of "India and Asian Geopolitics"
by Shivshankar Menon

India and Asian Geopolitics by Shivshankar Menon is exactly what you’d expect from someone who’s been at the very top of India’s diplomatic chain of command. With over four decades in foreign service, including stints as both Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser, Menon’s book offers a firsthand perspective in understanding India’s geopolitical compulsions.

The structure is clean: Past, Present, and Future. It begins with India’s early years navigating the post-independence chaos, the Cold War, and the Non-Aligned Movement, and moves through the Bangladesh war, nuclear testing, the rise of China, and into the present era marked by new alignments and emerging threats. The final section looks ahead, offering reflections on how Indian foreign policy needs to adapt in a shifting world order.

That said, reading it isn’t always easy. The language can feel overly bureaucratic, and there’s a noticeable ideological tilt. The narrative often seems more forgiving of earlier policy missteps while being far more critical of the current administration. And while China gets a detailed spotlight, Pakistan’s decades-long playbook of proxy war and diplomatic sabotage is treated with surprising restraint. In the context of events like India’s military retaliation in 2025 (Operation Sindoor), this imbalance becomes even more stark.

Still, despite its blind spots, the book remains a solid reference point. It’s not just a chronicle of what India did, it’s an attempt to explain why those decisions were made, from someone who was in the room when many of them were. If you're interested in how India sees the world, and how it wants to be seen in return, this book gives you a structured, state-level perspective.

Note: This is a condensed overview. The full-length review is under editorial review.