Non-Ideological, Strategic Convergence of the Gulf States’ “Look East” and India’s “Think West” Policies

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed a concerted effort to pilot Gulf-India ties beyond oil, trade and expatriates. While transforming the erstwhile “buyer-seller” relationship into a more meaningful one, “strategic” partnership has been the new mantra. While steering clear of placing the developments in any one-size-fits-all theoretical model, the paper attempts to provide a “south-south” perspective, referencing some of the tools of Foreign Policy Analysis –– recognizing in particular that this analysis needs to be “multi-level and multi-causal, as well as contextual” –– to explain the dynamics of these rapidly transforming relations. It identifies the imperatives that shaped this strategic relationship and how the governments have carefully moved out of their comfort zones to explore unchartered terrains. While surveying the multifaceted changes in Gulf-India ties over the last two decades, including some out-of-the-box security dynamics, the paper focuses on the governments’ pursuit of non-ideological and pragmatic foreign policies to fulfil their respective strategic goals and achieve strategic convergence in the Gulf’s “Look East” and India’s “Think West” policies. Finally, it also discusses the Iran and Pakistan factors in Gulf-India ties, refers to the openings for minilateral partnerships emanating from the Abraham Accords, and analyses the opportunities and challenges associated with the diminishing US engagement in the region, which could contribute to the evolution of an alternative security architecture. These factors gel well with the new penchant for de-escalation and rapprochement in the Gulf.