Indian Politics & Policy Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2018 | Page 4

Editor’s Introduction
Indian Politics Indian & Policy Politics • Vol. & 1, Policy No. 2 • Fall 2018
The second issue of Indian Politics and Policy has three articles on diverse
subjects and a review essay focused on three books dealing with various
aspects of contemporary Indian politics and political economy. The first
article, by Devin T. Hagerty, explains India’s lack of a robust response to Pakistan’s
repeated and persistent provocations. Hagerty argues that while three factors best
account for Indian restraint, the mutual possession of nuclear weapons constitutes
the most compelling explanation. Hagerty argues that while a number of Indian
leaders of varying political persuasions have criticized the tepid responses, India’s
restraint has, in all likelihood, helped avoid escalation to a nuclear war.
The second article, by Eswaran Sridharan and Aashik Jain, examines India’s
development assistance programs in the context of the country’s foreign policy. It
attempts to answer a series of questions about the size, direction, goals, methods,
and rationale behind India’s foreign aid programs. To that end, it specifically deals
with the principal recipients of India’s foreign aid in South Asia and Africa.
The third article by Kelly Alley, Nutan Maurya, and Sukanya Das deals with
the issue of steady decline of surface and groundwater availability in India, especially
during the dry season. To address this growing dilemma, they underscore
the critical necessity of developing wastewater recycling schemes. They then examine
four cases of wastewater recycling schemes that are deemed to have been
successful.
The final item in this issue is a review essay by Kanta Murali which deals
with three new books that focus on the determinants of India’s rise to global power,
examining the role of the state, domestic political, and economic resources and
constraints and the role of external actors in shaping this trajectory.
Sumit Ganguly, Editor, Indiana University, Bloomington
Surupa Gupta, Managing Editor, University of Mary Washington
Nicolas Blarel, Associate Editor, University of Leiden
Neil DeVotta, Associate Editor, Wake Forest University
Ronojoy Sen, Associate Editor, National University of Singapore
Arzan Tarapore, Book Review Editor, National Bureau of Asian Research
Brandon Joseph Miliate, Assistant Editor, Indiana University, Bloomington
1
doi: 10.18278/inpp.1.2.1