Nehru Years - An International History of Indian Non-Alignment

Scholars of international relations, political thought, and India's international and diplomatic history are increasingly interested in the relevance of non-alignment in Indian foreign policy. The origins of such policies and debates can be traced back to Nehru's conceptualization of non-alignment at the height of the Cold War. In this deeply researched study of his years as Prime Minister, 1947-64, Swapna Kona Nayudu utilizes archival research in multiple languages to uncover Indian diplomatic influence in four major international events: the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Congo Crisis. Through this detailed examination, she explores the contested meaning of non-alignment, a policy almost unique in its ambiguity and its centrality to a nation's political life. The resulting history is a thoughtful critique of India's diplomatic position as the only non-aligned founding member of the UN.

List of contents

List of Figures; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. 'A Lonely Furrow': Tagore, Gandhi and Nehruvian Non-alignment; 3. 'The Outbreak of Peace': India and the Korean War, 1950-1953; 4. 'The Fog of War': India, the Suez Canal Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution, 1956; 5. 'Bad Ethics and Worse Policy': India and the Congo Crisis, 1960-1964; 6. Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Swapna Kona Nayudu is Lecturer of Global Affairs, Yale-NUS College.

Product details

• Authors: Swapna Kona Nayudu, Swapna (Yale-Nus College Kona Nayudu
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.02.2025
• EAN: 9781009579087
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0957908-7
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Diplomacy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, International Relations, India, Diplomacy, Asian History, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), c 1945 to c 1990 (the Cold War period), HISTORY / Asia / South / General