"Professor Jacob has written a rigorous analysis of why India opted first for nonalignment and then for strategic autonomy, the costs it has borne as a consequence, and whether this will continue. Jacob argues persuasively that India sees itself and acts as a pole in international society. The clarity of argument, its empirical basis, and its realist lens make this book essential reading for those interested in understanding the trajectory of an India that is increasingly significant in Asia and a world in churn."?Shivshankar Menon, visiting professor of international relations, Ashoka University, and chair, Ashoka Centre for China Studies

"Happymon Jacob has written a fascinating and astute account of the origins and evolution of India's insistence on nonalignment as a foreign policy strategy. Tracing the root of the concept to Nehruvian and non-Nehruvian sources, he makes a thought-provoking argument?that nonalignment is the crystallization of India's long-held desire to be a 'pole' in global politics. A must read for anyone interested in (or baffled by) nonalignment and the ideological drivers of Indian foreign policy that persist to this day!"?Manjari Chatterjee Miller, professor of international relations and Munk Chair in Global India, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, and senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations