Shifting alliances and balance of power in Asia: transitions in the Indo-Russian security ties

Although officially non-aligned during the Cold War, India remained closely aligned with the Soviet Union. After the Cold War, Indo-Russian ties have remained strong; currently the two countries share a Strategic Partnership in addition to numerous other bilateral treaties. When the United States first replaced Russia as India’s largest defence supplier, it made international headlines in security circles. Since then, there has been much speculation on the future of Indo-Russian ties. Since the essence of the Indo-Russian relationship is considered to be the large-scale military trade between the two states, the toppling of Russia as India’s premier defence provider naturally led to dismal predictions about the strength of their future ties. However, this approach discounts the various measures that both India and Russia have taken to institutionalize their friendship. By conducting a systematic analysis of the Indo-Russian bilateral treaties, this article assesses the levels of cooperation within this dyad. By using network analysis it demonstrates that the Indo-Russian relationship is cooperative rather than ad hoc, leading to deeper institutionalization that is unlikely to shift in the recent future.