Book Review: India and Asian Geopolitics by Shivshakar Menon - On India’s Role in a Shifting Asian Order

 

Cover of "India and Asian Geopolitics"
by Shivshankar Menon

Framing India’s Role in the Asian Order

Few contemporary authors of geopolitics enjoy the reach in the Indian subcontinent that Shivshankar Menon has received, courtesy his book India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present, a feat fully justified for a man of his stature and calibre. With a diplomatic career spanning over 4 decades, including (almost) four years as India’s Foreign Secretary (2006–2009) and five years as National Security Adviser (2010–2014), Mr. Menon carries not only individual distinction but also a formidable legacy of diplomatic service that spans three generations and over 80 years. He is, without doubt, one of the most authoritative voices on geopolitics and diplomacy in the Indian subcontinent.

While the book broadly aligns with other strategic works such as Henry Kissinger’s On China and Vijay Gokhale’s The Long Game, what makes it stand out is its clean structural breakdown: the Past, Present, and Future; but with a clear South Asian focus. Unlike many foreign policy accounts that orbit around China, this book takes a regional view. While China does occupy a significant portion of the narrative, the book remains rooted in the Indian point of view and includes the larger South Asian theatre.

The book puts forth two clear assertions, effectively setting the tone and objective for what follows:

1. That India’s younger generations are increasingly disconnected from the country’s modern strategic history.
2. That there is a good reason why the Indian Subcontinent is the only 'subcontinent' in the world, a geopolitical fact with enduring consequences.

Over the course of 13 chapters, Mr. Menon attempts to reconnect readers with the strategic evolution of India since 1946, showing in the process how deeply “geo” has influenced the “politics” of South Asia. As he states early on:

 

“This book is the story of India in that changing Asia, of how India has adapted to changes since Indian independence in 1947, when the modern Indian state came into being." 

 

"From the very outset, with independence in 1947, and even before that under the interim government from September 1946, India was not just a reactive or passive object of Asian geopolitics but an active participant, and it sought to shape the Asian environment.”

 

Strategic Insight Rooted in Experience

The Past section (roughly covering 1947 to 2010) examines a decade-by-decade account of India’s foreign policy — from Nehru’s non-alignment to the 1971 war, nuclear tests, economic liberalization, and India’s slow but steady emergence on the global stage. The Present covers the late 2000s to 2020, linking the past to recent milestones like the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, Doklam, and the Galwan clashes. The Future, in the final chapter, reflects on where Indian diplomacy is headed, what strategic corrections may be needed, and how India must navigate a changing world order.

Though written from an Indian perspective, the book offers global policymakers a valuable window into how one of Asia’s key powers thinks about diplomacy, security, and long-term strategic alignment. It also succeeds in tracing the evolving role of superpowers in the broader Indo-Pacific from their influence at the height of decolonization and the Cold War, to China’s rise (ironically fostered by the U.S. as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union), to Washington’s gradual military retrenchment from the so-called “Chinese lake” and the Indian Ocean Region. However, the final chapters largely overlook the U.S.'s strategic re-engagement through coalitions like the QUAD and its expanding, albeit uneven, economic and diplomatic influence across ASEAN.

 

Where the Narrative Falters

However, for all its factual density and institutional insight, the book is weighed down by dry language, repetitive case references, and overlapping timelines across chapters. This stylistic monotony can strain the reader’s engagement and feel redundant in parts as topics like China, strategic autonomy, and regional alignments are revisited without sufficient fresh perspective.

Another glaring concern is the book’s ideological slant. There is a consistent and unmistakable bias toward the Nehruvian worldview of strategic restraint, non-alignment, and moral diplomacy. Congress-era leaders are framed sympathetically, even when discussing strategic blunders, while the present administration is subject to overt critique. Menon subtly downplays past miscalculations while taking sharp jibes at the current leadership, frequently accusing it of being divisive, propagandist, and overly image conscious. While criticism is valid in a democracy, the disproportionate tonal shift between past and present makes the book come across as more partisan than analytical in its latter sections.

One of the most significant gaps in the book is its underwhelming treatment of Pakistan’s sustained use of proxy warfare, diplomatic lobbying, and nuclear coercion. Over decades, Pakistan has consistently leveraged forums like the OIC and the UN to interfere in India’s internal matters, portray itself as a victim of regional imbalance, and warn the West of its nuclear assets falling into terrorist hands all while directly supporting terrorism in Kashmir and beyond. These persistent tactics receive far less attention in the book than their strategic impact warrants.

By contrast, China is positioned throughout the book as India’s singular, existential adversary economically, militarily, and ideologically. While that threat is real, the emphasis often feels overstated, particularly given that China’s growth has slowed, its manufacturing edge is eroding, and its global credibility has suffered due to its hyper-nationalist policies. This disproportionate framing appears rooted in the strategic orthodoxy of the Cold War and post-Nehruvian diplomacy, which viewed China through a lens of awe and inevitability, an approach that increasingly feels outdated when judged against today’s multipolar churn. And this framing becomes even more questionable when placed against the backdrop of recent events.

 

A Book Overtaken by Events

As I write this review in June 2025, the "present" section of the book has already become history. India recently launched Operation Sindoor, a swift, high-precision, four-day kinetic retaliation against Pakistan, following one of the worst terrorist attacks in global history (Pahalgam, April 22, 2025). Over the course of the operation (May 7–10), India targeted nine terrorist infrastructure sites and several military-linked nuclear installations inside Pakistani territory (the first such attack on a nuclear-armed adversary’s strategic assets). India also deployed counter-missile and drone warfare systems that reportedly outperformed equivalents like the Israeli Iron Dome. Notably, several Chinese and Turkish, offensive and defensive platforms were neutralized in these strikes. And all that China—Pakistan’s “all-weather” ally—could do was issue a post-event condemnation. That silence spoke volumes.

In short, geopolitics doesn’t pause for print. The tectonic shifts Mr. Menon outlines as emerging trends in 2020 have since materialized, evolved, and, in some cases, been redefined. His analysis remains valuable, but it now serves more as a prelude than a plot.

 

India’s Strategic Narrative: What Next?

Mr. Menon rightly reminds policymakers that confidence in India’s strategic future must draw not just from current strength, but from civilizational depth, from the Mauryas to modern India. However, his critique of contemporary nationalism as "bravado" underplays a new dimension of global diplomacy: one where narrative influence and symbolic power shape perception as much as policy.

In a world where "All Eyes on Rafah" can shift global opinion and military leaders appear on fashion covers, narrative agility is much more strategic than superficial. Still, hard power remains decisive on the ground, and India’s recent military assertiveness, tech diplomacy, and leadership in the Global South all signal a rebalancing of both.

Today, India stands at an inflection point. It has the opportunity to lead not by choosing between hard realism and moral diplomacy, but by blending both, reviving the essence of non-alignment not as neutrality, but as strategic autonomy. In doing so, it echoes not just Nehru’s ideals, but Kautilya’s realism: a world of many power centres, where influence comes not from alignment, but from example. However, translating this vision into reality will demand not only strategic foresight, but resilience, because entrenched powers rarely accommodate new ones without resistance. As India stakes its claim in the evolving global order, it must navigate both opportunity and obstruction with clarity, coherence, and confidence.

I believe this book deserves a strong 3.5/5 rating, all points for the academic depth, strategic narrative, and institutional insight, none for neutrality, literary engagement, and in keeping pace with the post-2020 geopolitical churn, falling short of adaptability and balance. Still, India and Asian Geopolitics is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how Indian diplomacy has evolved over the decades to counter external threats, shape regional balances, and secure national interests in an increasingly unstable South Asia.