Published Online:January 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of International Relations
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJIR020126
DOI:10.71329/IUPJIR/2026.20.1.25-34
Author Name:Ruhaan Sardana
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Arts and Humanities
Download Format:PDF
Pages:25-34
The paper presents an expanded conceptual and empirical investigation of Kautilya’s Mandala Theory with respect to its relevance for IR today. This paper integrates recent scholarship, refines many analytical categories, and widens the comparative engagement with the traditions of classical and structural realism. It is indicative that Mandala logic not only anticipates the essential realist concepts of self-help, anarchy, security dilemma, and shifting alliances, but also conveys a typical ethical dimension through Rajdharma. The extended discussion connects Mandala reasoning to India’s current multi-alignment approach, Indo-Pacific stance, and neighborhood first diplomacy.
The current realist discourse largely reflects the contributions of Western scholars like Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hans Morgenthau, and Kenneth Waltz. While this intellectual genealogy has permeated the theoretical bases of Realism with overwhelming impact, it often neglects its non-Western counterparts.