India's Strategic Future

South Asia has inherited a volatile ethnic, religious and social mix that generates powerful cross-currents of tension between the nations of the region. Within this setting India has placed its cards firmly on the table in its quest for regional great power status. The question is: can India continue to build on its military base and extend its strategic reach, or will the problems of a troubled nation and neighbourhood act as a restraint on its wider aspirations? And if it does eventually develop a strategic reach throughout the Indian Ocean, what kind of power is it likely to be? The papers which comprise this book, examine these and other questions and conclude that, while India may not yet be a power with any reach throughout the Indian Ocean, it is very much a question of "watch this space".