Abstract
Caught between the rising rival powers- India and China, Nepali foreign policy can be perceived as following the practice of strategic hedging where it is attempting to position itself in a way to maximize benefits while simultaneously defending against undesirable threats and dangers from both the rising powers. In the context of a small state like Nepal, strategic hedging implies consciously choosing to adopt mixed policies, which features both balancing and bandwagoning. This paper aims to understand how a ministate like Nepal formulates its foreign policy to address the power politics and applies economic pragmatism followed by smart power and nimble diplomacy to its advantage. This paper also aims to explain that strategic hedging can be followed by Nepal when there is an absence of immediate threat that might compel the state to ally with the power for protection. Through the lens of various realist theories, this paper analyzes that a mini state like Nepal can achieve its national interest and would either bandwagon with the rising power i.e., “China, or” it could try to balance against it supporting the current status quo i.e., India.
Highlights
Situated between India in the east, west, and south and China in the north, Nepal lacks adequate resources to sustain its economy
As a landlocked developing nation situated between two Asian superpowers, India and China, Nepal to achieve its national interest will always have to follow contradictory policies consisting of partially bandwagoning and partially balancing
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE This paper aims to apply academic theory to determine whether the contemporary Nepali foreign policy is adopting a hedging strategy to deal with its two superpower neighbors without choosing sides
Summary
Situated between India in the east, west, and south and China in the north, Nepal lacks adequate resources to sustain its economy. For its survival, Nepal requires the developmental support and opportunities provided by both its neighbours and other powerful counties and organizations. As a landlocked developing nation situated between two Asian superpowers, India and China, Nepal to achieve its national interest will always have to follow contradictory policies consisting of partially bandwagoning and partially balancing. Any ideological fault line is absent directly visible in the south Asian region, which existed during the cold war era where countries have to choose between two ideological camps i.e., the USA or Soviet Union. As there is the absence of all-out-of-break power rivalry, strategic hedging seems to be the best possible strategy option for small power nations like Nepal for achieving development
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