| During the 2000s, the Indian military notably deployed overseas including distant locations such as Nevada in the United States, the United Kingdom, Congo, off the Somali coast, the Far East, and the South Pacific to participate in joint exercises, carry out peacekeeping operations, and execute counterpiracy missions amongst myriad other deployments. Notably, these deployments coincided with India's current rising economic, political, and cultural and political stature. Observing India's overseas military deployments during this period prompts inquiry into how a rising power uses its military to underpin its rising status.;According to conventional international relations theory, India should act as a realist state securing its own interests including countering rivals such as China and Pakistan or protecting energy sources and associated trade routes. However, I argue acts through a unique paradigm, which I term "responsible power." As a "responsible power," India does not act purely out of self-interest and deploys its military to reinforce pre-existing economic relations with other nations such as major trading partners or fellow members in regional organizations and to execute non-offensive military operations such as peacekeeping or humanitarian assistance. To prove this concept, I first described India's realist and "responsible power" interests worldwide. Then, I displayed where India actually deployed its military and demonstrated that acting as a "responsible power" drove India's deployment of its military overseas. |
