POWER POLITICS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION AFTER THE COLD WAR

This article analyzes the changing dynamics of power politics in the Indian Ocean region following the end of the Cold War. It examines how the collapse of the bipolar superpower rivalry reconfigured the strategic landscape of this vital maritime space. The study assesses the evolving roles of both external and regional powers. It analyzes the continued, albeit modified, strategic presence of the United States and the diminished role of Russia. The research then focuses on the growing influence of the region's own major powers, particularly India, which was pursuing a more assertive naval policy. The paper also explores the increasing strategic interest of China in the Indian Ocean. The analysis argues that the region was transitioning from a bipolar structure to a more complex, multipolar dynamic, characterized by a mix of cooperation and competition. The conclusion evaluates the implications of these new power politics for the stability and security of the Indian Ocean littoral states.

The end of the Cold War fundamentally transformed the nature of power politics in the Indian Ocean region. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this new strategic environment. The study begins by contrasting the post-Cold War dynamics with the preceding era, which was dominated by the naval competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The core of the article is an examination of the new, more complex power structure. It analyzes the role of the United States as the sole remaining global superpower, whose naval dominance in the region was now unchallenged, and whose strategic focus was shifting towards ensuring the security of energy supplies and counter-terrorism. The paper then provides a detailed assessment of the rise of India as the pre-eminent resident naval power. It discusses India's "Look East" policy and its naval expansion as key indicators of its ambition to be the net security provider in the region. A third key element of the analysis is the growing strategic footprint of China, which, while not yet a major naval power in the Indian Ocean, was beginning to build the economic and political relationships that would form the basis for its future influence. The findings suggest that the region was entering a new era of multipolar competition, where the interactions between the US, India, and a rising China would become the central dynamic. This new game of power politics, the paper concludes, would present both new challenges and new opportunities for the smaller littoral states of the region.