India-Latin America Relations, 2000-22: Their Encounter and Shared Gains

Abstract

ABSTRACT India’s relations with Latin American countries are of long-standing but they had had low salience for both sides. During the early 21st century, the salience increased for both. What explains this change? The confluence of shifts in the structure of the international system, economic and political regime change, and the rise to office of new governments in India and key Latin American countries, in particular Brazil and Mexico, permitted and fostered an acceleration and intensification of relations between India and such countries. The heightened inter-country partnerships during 2004–14 resulted from statecraft, that is, the deliberate actions of the governments of India and its key Latin American partners in response to new international system opportunities and the subsequent actions of their respective business communities. Prime ministers and presidents acted on the structural opportunity to enact innovative foreign policies. These governments coordinated their policies in multilateral institutions, helped to reshape them, and innovated in creating new multilateral entities. They also opened new avenues for business investment and trade. In time, democratic politics – the transfer of power from incumbent parties and leaders to the opposition – converted one administration’s policy into the foreign policy of the State.