Paper short abstract:

How significant is the 'India factor' in shaping Bangladesh foreign policy? This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the India factor in Bangladesh foreign policy in the context of the theoretical debate between Innenpolitik and Aussenpolitik schools of thought.

Paper long abstract:

Analysts of Bangladesh foreign policy in general agree that the 'India factor' plays an important role in the dynamics of Bangladesh foreign policy. But exactly how significant is India in shaping the country's foreign policy? This paper attempts to locate the 'India factor' as a source of Bangladesh foreign policy and provides an in-depth analysis how historically this factor has shaped Bangladesh's foreign policy behaviour.

The analysis is presented contextualising the theoretical debate in International Relations between the two schools of thought, namely the Innenpolitik and the Aussenpolitik schools of thought. The former school argues that domestic factors are the key sources of a state's foreign policy behaviour, while the latter argues the opposite. The paper also considers whether foreign policy is basically a two-level game.