Looking Out to the Indian Elections

Question on in what direction do you think Modi will be empowered to take Indian foreign policy if he wins a third term is answered. We will see substantial continuities in foreign policy. There is more room to maneuver major shifts in direction domestically rather than internationally. I suspect that a few existing strands will continue to be heightened or retain their positions of focus. The first is the multi-alignment position. The Indian government is trying to be in, what they call, the "sweet spot:" aligned, but not allied, with the United States and Russia. India is on good terms with the Gulf countries and Israel. They share a tense relationship with China, which is a major reason why they look both to the West and Russia as partners even though the West and Russia are locked in a rivalry over the war in Ukraine. The multi-alignment position is attractive to India and has seemed fairly sustainable thus far. That will likely continue.