PM Modi’s foreign policy 2.0

India has re-elected the incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the BJP government, with a bigger majority and an increased vote share. What will this mean for the foreign policy of India in a turbulent world in which the old verities are disappearing and domestic political compulsions exert overwhelming influence on external postures? The massive endorsement frees Mr Modi to continue his unabashed style and pursuit of the foreign policy objectives he set himself in 2014, which were primarily to raise the global profile of India, including among Indians living abroad. It is a highly desired but essentially powerless position since Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru on, have run foreign policy from the PM’s office. At his 2014 swearing-in ceremony, Mr Modi had surprised everyone who had written him off as a foreign policy novice by inviting the heads of governments of all South Asian neighbours, including Pakistan.