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At the end of the 20th century India is the largest democracy in the world with a booming economy, a nuclear arsenal and the fourth largest military in the world. Indian foreign and security policy at the end of the 20th century is driven by the desire to become a major power on the global stage, inter alia through the acquisition of a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. The initial part of this book will cover the normative, institutional and historical basis of the Indian foreign and security policy. This research is divided into two main sections, the first covering India´s foreign policy and the second focusing on security aspects. On the foreign policy level India´s bilateral relations with the four global players US, EU, Russia and China will be discussed. India´s relations with these four global players and the way in which they view India´s major power ambitions will be significant in determining whether or not India is seen as a major power on the world stage. India´s role in the UN and its various contributions in peacekeeping missions around the world will also be considered. The second section will deal with India´s nuclear deterrent and the Indo-Pakistani relations with the aim to discover whether its security policy matches its major power ambitions.

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Sanjeev Thavarajah is a political scientist and a lawyer. He has studied at the Philipps University of Marburg, the Charles University in Prague, the University of Essex and in Leicester. He was working as a research assistant with the Institute of International Relations in Prague. At present, he is employed by the European Parliament.

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