His approach is novel because it highlights how endemic

 His approach is novel because it highlights how endemic features of India’s political system have gotten in the way of its decision-making; a single-minded focus on India’s external environment doesn’t adequately explain its choices. Basrur’s decision to fold his argument into neoclassical realism advances understanding of New Delhi’s foreign policy. He makes clear that unless India’s political leaders can harness domestic forces toward their aspirations to play a more significant role in Asia and beyond, they will remain hamstrung.

Basrur shows how features of India’s domestic politics have influenced its responses to foreign-policy challenges using four case studies: the U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement, India’s role in the Sri Lankan civil war, its nuclear strategy, and its response to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. He draws

 on a vast array of secondary sources and archival material for context and argues that in each case India’s policymakers responded to external changes and threats—but that the implementation of these policy choices was often haphazard because of domestic political dynamics.