Paper short abstract:

To what extent do external, 'non-Western' perceptions of India resonate with India’s emerging global self-image? This paper offers an alternative set of reflections on India’s current place and role in the world that go beyond standard Anglo-American conceptual frameworks and discourses.

Paper long abstract:

With the growth of India's power and status, the world is increasingly thinking about India and its future role in international affairs. While there is a growing literature on India's place in the world, such work is written primarily from an Anglo-American perspective. This paper summarises the findings of an edited volume that seeks to explore 'non-Western' perceptions of the growing international influence of India as a common element of world politics. It draws together the central insights from African, Brazilian, Central European, Chinese, Iranian, Japanese, Mexican, Russian, South African, South Korean, and Syrian perspectives on India's rise. In doing so it suggests what these perspectives can collectively teach us about how India's projected self-image is being received around the world, and what the changing nature of India's role in world politics means for a range of non-Western global stakeholders.