Indian Foreign Affairs Journal (Paperback), Foundation Books, Rs. 400 (single issue) and Rs. 1400 (annual subscription) in India, Nepal & Bhutan.

There are journals and journals, but among them few can be qualified as engaging reads. Fewer are the journals that convey something of substance. And fewer still are those rare kinds of periodicals that present a perfect synthesis of these two above-mentioned attributes. Accordingly, the inaugural issue (Jan-March 2006) of the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, a quarterly publication of the Association of Indian Diplomats, belongs to that rare third category. However, even though it is a journal, its shape, texture, binding, and richly scholastic content give the reader an impression of a scholarly book. And I believe, it should be read as a book rather than a journal.

Here it deserves a mention that Indian Foreign Affairs Journal is the first journal of its kind and definitely caters to a long-felt need in academic circles. The journal, which was launched by the Indian Prime Minister on 15 February 2006, provides an intellectually stimulating forum for authentic, scholarly, and policy-oriented perspectives on India’s emerging dimensions of engagement with the world. The current quarterly issue, comprising 140 pages, presents erudite opinions and in-depth analyses of a number of renowned academics, diplomats, and foreign policy experts in the shape of content-rich debates and articles. Besides that, there are three well-informed book reviews by three academics.

The journal can be segmented into four sections: debate, articles, oral history, and book reviews. In fact, debate on one of the contemporary and controversial aspects of India’s foreign policy will be a regular feature of this quarterly, as would be the reviews of the latest books on India’s foreign policy and relations. In ‘oral history’, oral history of India’s foreign policy will be recorded by senior and experienced policy makers. In this issue, the oral history section is handled by none other than former Indian Prime Minister IK Gujral—known for his contribution in the realm of India’s foreign policy. He was India’s ambassador to the erstwhile Soviet Union, during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and in this issue he lucidly recalls India’s stance to the controversial intervention.

In the inaugural issue, the debate is on the sensitive issue of Indo-US strategic partnership. The high-powered panel includes K Subrahmanyam, Convener of the task force on Global Strategic Development; Bharat Karnad, Research Professor at the Centre for Policy Research; Dilip Lahiri, former Ambassador of India to France; and Siddharth Varadarajan, Deputy Editor of The Hindu. The debate section of this issue has presented an exchange of savant thought patterns, which will surely help to enhance the information base of students and researchers on Indo-US policy. At the same time, lay readers who have a quest to know more about the changing dynamics of this evolving partnership between the world’s largest and oldest democracies will also find the section interesting and useful.

The exhaustive articles cover a cross-section of sub topics pertaining to India’s foreign policy, ranging from issues like nuclear non-proliferation regime, energy security to the Look East Policy, streamlining economic diplomacy, etc. Together, the six articles manage to give a holistic view of India’s foreign policy and an in-depth exploration of the issues governing it over the decades.

The book reviews’ section deals with three contemporary works in India’s foreign policy. The books reviewed in this issue are India’s Energy Security: Prospects for Cooperation with Extended Neighbourhood by SD Muni and Girijesh Pant; A Clash of Political Cultures: Sino-Indian Relations (1957-62) by Sudershan Bhutani; and Indian Foreign Service: History and Challenge by J.N.Dixit. All the reviews reflect scholarly credentials of the reviewers and are likely to encourage readers to procure a copy of the books.