EVENTS

The concept of ‘soft power’ conceptualised by Joseph Nye in the context of post-Cold War United States has gained substantial traction over the years. The scope and utility of the concept has been harnessed more successfully by China than India, despite the latter’s attractiveness of civilisational ethos, democratic values, and robust political structure. By leveraging the ancient military strategist Sun Tzu's strategic tradition of “cautious war” and “defeating the enemy without fighting,” China has arguably, been persuasive in projecting its role of a global and responsible security actor. In contrast, India has shied from acknowledging the legacy of Kautilya in its soft power promotion. The strategic tradition of ancient Indian statecraft emanating from Kautilya’s Arthashastra reveals not just a characteristically different understanding of soft power, but also a more nuanced one. The exercise of hard power in this treatise, has a soft underpinning with use of force as the last resort, and is framed in the idea of ‘dharma’ (righteousness). With hard and soft powers intersecting in unique ways, based on goals and strategic context, Arthashastra uniquely contributes to the knowledge narrative that a rising India needs - aptly delivering the message of India’s rational and ethical antecedents – a yet unexplored soft power potential.

Speaker

Kajari Kamal is an Associate Professor at the Takshashila Institution, Bangalore, specialising in Indian strategic culture with a focus on Kautilya’s Arthashastra. She earned her PhD from the University of Hyderabad, with a thesis titled “Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Indian Strategic Culture: A Comparative Study of Two Phases of India’s Foreign Policy, 1947-1964 and 1998-2014.” Her work bridges ancient Indian historical texts and contemporary strategic studies. Kamal holds a graduate degree in History from Lady Sri Ram College and a post-graduate degree in International Relations from JNU, New Delhi. She is a frequent speaker at leading defence institutions and contributes regularly to platforms like The Wire, The Print, and the MP-IDSA. Her recent book, Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Strategic Cultural Roots of India’s Contemporary Statecraft, was published by Routledge in 2022.

Chair

Vijay K. Nambiar is a veteran Indian diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1967. Over the span of his illustrious career, he held several high-profile positions that spanned critical moments in Indian and global diplomacy. He specialised in Chinese studies and served in Beijing, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Malaysia, China, and Pakistan. As Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, he played a key role in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 China visit. Ambassador Nambiar was India’s Permanent Representative to the UN (2002-2004) and later served as Deputy National Security Adviser. Post-retirement, he was a Special Adviser to Kofi Annan and Chef de Cabinet to Ban Ki-moon. He also contributed as Adviser on Myanmar, leveraging his geopolitical expertise.

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