Superpower Rivalry in the Indian Ocean and Foreign Policy Choices in India and Pakistan - A Review of Recent Literature

Abstract The paper addresses the following questions: to what extent have the states of India and Pakistan had the freedom to choose their own foreign policies without being limited by the military and ideological power of the USA or the USSR? The history of relations between India, Pakistan and the superpowers since the 1940s is sketched in relation to both a 'loose' pluralist model and a comparatively 'tight' neo-Marxist model, and then the question is essayed on the basis of some recent, international relations literature on the subject. The conclusion, broadly speaking, is that India and Pakistan probably have more freedom over their foreign policy choices than a 'tight' model would suggest.