Question 3 of 8intermediate🔍 AnalyzeShort Answer4 marks

"The conduct of foreign affairs is an outcome of a two-way interaction between domestic compulsions and prevailing international climate". Take one example from India's external relations in the 1960s to substantiate your answer.

Correct Answer

The conduct of foreign affairs is indeed shaped by both domestic needs and the international environment. A relevant example from India's external relations in the 1960s is the 1962 war with China.

On the domestic front, India faced the legacy of international disputes left by the British government. The Partition had created its own pressures, and the task of poverty alleviation was waiting to be fulfilled. These domestic compulsions influenced India's approach to its neighbours.

Internationally, the Cold War was at its peak, marked by political, economic, and military confrontation between the two blocs led by the US and the USSR. India responded with the innovative policy of non-alignment to avoid joining either camp.

The 1962 war with China demonstrated this two-way interaction — domestic security concerns met the international reality of Cold War politics, and these external relations in turn had their impact on politics within the country.

Exercise: EXERCISES | Q: 4 | (Page 17)
For More Understanding

Explanation

The textbook context explicitly states that 'foreign policy of a nation reflects the interplay of domestic and external factors' and that 'wars, and the external relations in general, were shaped by and had their impact on the politics in the country.' The 1962 war with China is mentioned as one of the three wars (1962, 1965, 1971) that exemplify this relationship between domestic compulsions (Partition legacy, poverty alleviation, British-left disputes) and international climate (Cold War, superpower blocs).

Solution Steps

  1. Step 1: Identify domestic factors from context - legacy of disputes, Partition pressures, poverty alleviation challenge

  2. Step 2: Identify international factors from context - Cold War, confrontation between US and USSR blocs

  3. Step 3: Link both to the 1962 war as an example showing two-way interaction between domestic and international factors

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