Great power politics: India’s absence from Ideological Energy Diplomacy in Central Asia

As we enter the 21st century, Central Asia has become a more significant region for energy studies. To facilitate energy competition in the region, the major powers have found it increasingly necessary to rationalize their ambitions ideologically. The United States works from a platform of liberal democracy and "human rights above sovereignty", Russia proffers its own idea of "sovereign democracy" to the Central Asians, and China portrays itself as a non-interventionist "responsible state" in the region. As one of the largest superpowers in the region, India lacks a unique ideology to increase its influence in Central Asia. This paper uses primary sources to explain how and why India has failed to compete with other great powers in Central Asia and to re-map what it calls “ideologised energy diplomacy” in an attempt to assess what progress India has made. Copyright © 2010 Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program.