The release of India Beyond Westphalia: From Strategic Autonomy to Global Leadership by Hardeep Chaudhary presents a timely exploration of India’s evolving position in an increasingly complex and multipolar world. Blending history, geopolitics, and strategic analysis, the book examines how India’s foreign policy is moving beyond traditional ideas of the Westphalian nation-state toward a broader conception of global engagement, strategic responsibility, and international leadership.
At the heart of the book is an examination of what the 21st-century global order demands from India. While sovereignty and national interest remain central to international relations, India Beyond Westphalia argues that contemporary challenges require countries to think beyond conventional boundaries. Strategic autonomy, responsible leadership, technological innovation, climate action, and cooperation among nations of the Global South emerge as important elements of India’s future diplomatic outlook.
The book considers how India can navigate the competing pressures of an increasingly multipolar international system while balancing domestic priorities with wider global responsibilities. Rather than viewing national interest and international responsibility as opposing ideas, it explores the possibility of integrating both within a more mature approach to foreign policy. This perspective places India’s diplomatic evolution within the larger transformation taking place across global politics.
A significant theme of India Beyond Westphalia is India’s potential role in shaping, rather than merely responding to, the emerging international order. The book presents a forward-looking vision in which India’s growing influence could extend beyond conventional measures of power. Its emphasis on inclusive institutions, technological capabilities, climate responsibility, Global South cooperation, and rules-based engagement reflects the changing nature of global governance.
The book is designed to be accessible to a broad readership, including students, scholars, policymakers, diplomats, and anyone interested in international affairs. By bringing together historical context and strategic perspectives, it seeks to provide readers with a concise framework for understanding India’s expanding global role and the challenges and opportunities that may define its journey toward 2047.
Author Hardeep Chaudhary brings a focused interest in geopolitics, international relations, and global governance to this work. An Indian researcher and author, Chaudhary is an India Book of Records and World Record holder. At the age of 26, he is the Founder of The Fomology, a global media organisation focused on world affairs, and also serves as a District Role Model. His work as a researcher with the Geostrata think tank contributes to discussions surrounding international security and foreign policy.
Through his research and writing, Chaudhary seeks to make complex global issues accessible while encouraging informed debate about India’s place in the emerging world order. India Beyond Westphalia reflects this objective by connecting strategic questions with a larger examination of India’s diplomatic future.
As India approaches the decades leading to 2047, the book invites readers to consider how the country can combine strategic autonomy with constructive global engagement. India Beyond Westphalia ultimately offers a framework for examining India’s transition from an important participant in international affairs toward a potential architect of a more inclusive, stable, and rules-based global order.