Kautilya’s Alliance Policy: An Analysis of Indian Strategic Alliance Diplomacy in the 21st Century

Abstract

This article examines the enduring relevance of Kautilya's classical theory of alliance formation to India's contemporary diplomatic and strategic practice. Drawing on the Arthashastra's two foundational frameworks: the Mandala theory of concentric state relations and the Sadgunya Siddhanta, this study argues that Kautilyan statecraft offers a coherent analytical lens through which India's 21st-century alliance behaviour can be interpreted. Rooted in a realist conception of international anarchy, Kautilya posited alliances as instrumental, conditional, and subject to revision in accordance with shifting power configurations; a logic that prefigures modern structural realism while retaining its own distinctive pragmatic character. This article applies this framework to India's evolving network of strategic partnerships, encompassing its relationships with Russia, the United States, Israel, European powers, the QUAD, and ASEAN states. Across these cases, a consistent pattern emerges of flexible, interest-driven coalition-building oriented towards military modernisation, technological self-reliance, and countering Chinese assertion in the Indo-Pacific - all consonant with Kautilyan prescriptions of Vijigishu statecraft and enemy encirclement. The article contributes to scholarship recovering non-Western classical traditions as substantive theoretical resources for international relations, arguing that the continuities between ancient Indian strategic thought and contemporary Indian grand strategy are neither incidental nor merely rhetorical.

Keywords: Arthashastra; Mandala Theory; Sadgunya Siddhanta or Six-Fold Policy; Alliances; International Relations; Realism; Statecraft; Diplomacy.