91. Indian Federalism and the Conduct of Foreign Policy in Border States: State Participation and Central Accommodation since 1990
- Author:
- Rafiq Dossani and Srinidhi Vijaykumar
- Publication Date:
- 03-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- The role of subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Lander) in international affairs is a growing subject in the literature on federalist affairs. Scholars of political science have traditionally seen the conduct of foreign policy as the exclusive domain of the national government. This would seem an especially apt observation about India's federalist system. The Indian constitution has given the center particularly strong powers—so strong, in fact, that some have described it as “quasi federal” because of the lack of autonomy it affords to the states. Yet, there is an increasing consensus that the states have not been shy of foreign policy advocacy. Some have argued that the era of coalition governance has increased such advocacy and, potentially, influence, especially in the context of globalization and economic reform and liberalization.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India