RIGT WING POPULISM IN US AND INDIA: ANALYSIS OF NARENDRA MODI’s AND DONALD TRUMP’s FOREIGN POLICY

Abstract

The rise of the right-wing populism has significantly shaped the domestic and international political landscapes. This has rose an important implication for foreign policy shifts as well. This paper has examined an important relation between the populist leadership and foreign policy. A comparative analysis has been established between US President Donald Trump with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The paper is grounded with the post-structural framework in which it has been explored how populist narratives and identity construction discourse influence the foreign policy orientations in different geographical contexts. This paper has also argued that while both the leaders employ similar right-wing populist rhetoric based on nationalism, anti-elitism, “us versus them” dichotomy, still both the leader’s foreign policy trajectories diverge significantly. Trump’s America First approach focuses on multilateralism, protectionism, and skepticism towards international institutions. Whereas, Narendra Modi’s India First vision shows a strong strategic engagement with international institutions at multiple platforms, combining the assertive nationalism with active global participation for enhancing India’s international image. The paper has considered populist leadership as independent variable with its relation with the dependent variable of foreign policy which actually becomes a tool for legitimizing the authority and fore reinforcing the political narratives as well. The findings of the paper has suggested that populism does not necessarily produces a uniform same foreign policy outcomes for two different populist leaders. Rather it manifests and maneuver the foreign policy in a different manner depending on the “choices made by populist leaders” with an inclusion of regional dynamics, and strategic objectives.