000			02491nas a2200217Ia 4500
008			240802c99999999xx |||||||||||| ||und||
022			_a1473-6489
100			_aChattopadhyay, Pratip _9120061
245		0	_aExternalization of Indian federalism: Understanding the role of West Bengal and Tripura on India's policy toward Bangladesh
260			_bIndia Review
260			_c2024
300			_a01-24
520			_aIn a federal political system like India, the role of the federal units bordering the neighboring countries becomes crucial in foreign policy-making toward neighboring countries. It is expected that when similar political parties or coalition partners remain in power in both the center and the states, federal politics does not hinder policy-making toward neighboring countries. Moreover, foreign policy being a central subject, federal units any way reflect passive tendencies, especially in the case of governments with the same party affiliations. Both these simplifications are contested in this paper by citing instances of the role of West Bengal and Tripura, India's two federal units bordering the neighboring country of Bangladesh, at different historical junctures, in which similar political parties in the center and the state resulted in more friction than when different political parties were in office in matters of India's foreign policy-making toward Bangladesh. The paper argues that instead of federalization of foreign policy, where federal units have an influential role, this particular experience suggests an externalization of federalism, where an external variable (Bangladesh) influences internal federal dynamics to the extent that domestic electoral politics force the political parties of the two federal units to give importance to the neighboring country in taking positions on foreign policy-making. The immediate context of fifty years of the India-Bangladesh relationship and question about over-centralization during the latest phase of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime in India push the authors to take up Bangladesh as a case to contest the given of Indian federalism in foreign policy making.
650			_a Federal Political System _9120062
650			_a Foreign Policy
650			_a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) _9120063
650			_a West Bengal and Tripura _9120064
650			_aIndian Federalism _928339
700			_a Debnath, Biplab _9120065
856			_uhttps://doi.org/10.1080/14736489.2023.2295717
999			_c133624 _d133624