India's foreign policy toward Israel is a subject of deep dispute. Throughout the twentieth century arguments have raged over the Palestinian problem and the future of bilateral relations. Yet no text comprehensively looks at the attitudes and policies of India toward Israel, especially their development in conjunction with history. P. R. Kumaraswamy is the first to account for India's Israel policy, revealing surprising inconsistencies in positions taken by the country's leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and tracing the crackling tensions between its professed values and realpolitik. Kumaraswamy's findings debunk the belief that India possesses a homogenous policy toward the Middle East. In fact, since the early days of independence, many within India have supported and pursued relations with Israel. Using material derived from archives in both India and Israel, Kumaraswamy investigates the factors that have hindered relations between these two countries despite their numerous commonalities. He also considers how India destabilized relations, the actions that were necessary for normalization to occur, and the directions bilateral relations may take in the future. In his most provocative argument, Kumaraswamy underscores the disproportionate affect of anticolonial sentiments and the Muslim minority on shaping Indian policy.

India's relationship with Israel has been one of the most sensitive and controversial issues in New Delhi's diplomatic history. India first decided to recognize Israel in 1950 but deliberately deferred the establishment of diplomatic relations. Then, in January 1992, New Delhi abruptly modified its no-relationship policy and exchanged diplomatic missions with Tel Aviv. In the spate of only two decades, the two countries have developed significant economic and especially defense relations. Why did India only decide to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992? And how have Indo-Israeli relations moved from almost naught to a rapid and substantial development in certain sensitive sectors like defense cooperation in only a few years? Breaking with conventional wisdom, this book looks at how India's Israel policy was actually contested from the start and evolved over time to adapt to new domestic and international circumstances and interests. The rationale for engaging Israel did not suddenly emerge in 1992 but was in fact the result of long-term debates within the Indian polity. This book offers a new historical perspective to understand the formation and evolution of India's Israel policy since the pre-Independence period.

"Few countries receive as much attention as Israel and are at the same time as misunderstood. The Oxford Handbook of Israeli Politics and Society brings together leading Israeli and international figures to offer the most wide-ranging treatment available of an intriguing country. It serves as a comprehensive reference for the growing field of Israel studies and is also a significant resource for students and scholars of comparative politics, recognizing that in many ways Israel is not unique, but rather a test case of democracy in deeply divided societies and states engaged in intense conflict. The handbook presents an overview of the historical development of Israeli democracy through chapters examining the country's history, contemporary society, political institutions, international relations, and most pressing political issues. It outlines the most relevant developments over time while not shying away from the strife both in and around Israel. It presents opposed narratives in full force, enabling readers to make their own judgments"--

India and Israel contextualises the varied aspects of the partnership between India and Israel, with a specific focus on the dominant driver -- the defence engagement between the two sides, forged in the context of mutual complementarities. India's broad-spectrum relationship with Israel transformed into a strategic partnership in 2017, a quarter century after the establishment of full diplomatic ties. India and Israel have successfully steered the relationship forward, despite the baggage of fraught and convulsive neighbourhoods. The contributors to this volume include policy makers and military leaders who played an important role in the growth of the relationship, as well as academics who have closely followed its growth, shedding important light on the transformation of the India-Israel bilateral relationship into a strategic partnership over the course of past tumultuous 25 years. Chapters highlight Israel's increasing engagement with India's diverse federal polity, the de-hyphenation of the India-Israel ties from India's relationship with Palestine, as well as the role played by US non-state (pro-Israel US-based interest groups) and sub-state (US Congressmen) actors in shaping India-Israel ties. The concluding chapter examines Israel's relationship with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), given that both the PRC and India established diplomatic ties with Israel almost simultaneously. India and Israel will be of great interest to scholars of strategic studies, international relations, Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, as well as those working in diplomacy, government and the military. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Strategic Analysis.

The debate about globalisation and its discontents

This authoritative work on India's foreign policy rests on the fundamental values of international relations that India has cherished. Efforts have been made to analyze these values and to evaluate to what extent these have been implemented and to what extent these have been effective. This edition of the book has been updated to include new issues that have emerged and have come to dominate India’s foreign policy concerns. India’s stance on Climate Change has undergone an evolution in the last two decades which is important to understand. Similarly, India’s relation with Israel which was tepid and limited till 1992 has undergone a radical transformation ever since. India has forged a close and important partnership with Israel which will be critical going forward for it, especially in the defence sector. India and Israel have also come to share a sense of solidarity, being common victims of terrorism as was highlighted by the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. Thus, it is important to take stock of India’s growing relationship with Israel. Furthermore, the rise of China is the biggest geopolitical challenge India faces in this century. This edition discusses how India is seeking to formulate a foreign policy in accordance with its emergence as a major international power. It also discusses India’s relations with its neighbours in South Asia.

The first all-encompassing book on Israel’s foreign policy and the diplomatic history of the Jewish people, The Star and the Scepter retraces and explains the interactions of Jews with other nations from the ancient kingdoms of Israel to modernity. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, Emmanuel Navon argues that one cannot grasp Israel’s interactions with the world without understanding how Judaism’s founding document has shaped the Jewish psyche. He sheds light on the people of Israel’s foreign policy through the ages: the ancient kingdoms of Israel, Jewish diasporas in Europe from the Middle Ages to the emancipation, the emerging nineteenth-century Zionist movement, and Zionist diplomacy following World War I and surrounding World War II. Navon elucidates Israel’s foreign policy from the birth of the state in 1948 to our days: the dilemmas and choices at the beginning of the Cold War; Israel’s attempts to establish periphery alliances; the Arab-Israeli conflict; Israel’s relations with Europe, the United States, Russia, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the United Nations, and the Jewish diasporas; and how twenty-first-century energy geopolitics is transforming Israel’s foreign relations today. Navon’s analysis is rooted in two central ideas, represented by the Star of David (faith) and the scepter (political power). First, he contends that the interactions of Jews with the world have always been best served by combining faith with pragmatism. Second, Navon shows how the state of Israel owes its diplomatic achievements to national assertiveness and hard power—not only military strength but economic prowess and technological innovation. Demonstrating that diplomacy is a balancing act between ideals and realpolitik, The Star and the Scepter draws aspirational and pragmatic lessons from Israel’s exceptional diplomatic history.