Review
[David M. Malone] has produced a copiously annotated book that is so beautifully organised and written that his scholarship wears lightly and never impinges upon the story he tells. ― Alan Mackie, Asian Affairs
A much needed corrective to the sometimes single-minded focus of Indian foreign policy scholars on the Security Council. ― Nabarun Roy, International Affairs 87: 6
A broad-ranging but substantive survey of the Indian foreign policy horizon ... brings an illuminating perspective to the conduct of India's international relations ... Overall, the volume is one of the best overviews of Indian foreign policy in recent years. ― David J. Karl, Asia Policy
Malone gives a detailed insight into India's domestic scene, with an amazingly accurate description of all the principle political parties and players. His scholarship is manifest in the 100-odd pages of footnotes and bibliography, and he quotes extensively from the writings of Indian analysts as well as from personal conversations with unnamed individuals ... The book's comprehensive approach makes it a must for all those interested in India and South Asia. ― Chinmaya Gharekhan, India Today
Does the Elephant Dance? stands out amongst books on this subject ... The book is lucidly and engagingly written, and is as accessible to the lay reader as to the specialist ... the best book yet on recent Indian foreign policy. It will be required reading for anyone wanting to make sense of the great transitions underway in India's engagement with the world. ― Srinath Raghavan, The Times of India
...Malone's Does the Elephant Dance? is a solidly researched, lucid analysis of Indian foreign policy. It immerses itself in Indian history to seek the wellsprings of continuity in India's relations with the world, and studies the role of domestic politics and internal compulsions, as well as the impact of external security challenges. Unlike scholars more interested in geopolitics, Malone has a fine appreciation of the significance of domestic and international economic factors in foreign policy-making. ..The text is a goldmine for scholars. ― Shashi Tharoor, Outlook
The author, until recently Canada's High Commissioner to Delhi, has a breadth of knowledge and makes his case well. ― The Economist
an impressive book ... a solidly researched, lucid analysis of Indian foreign policy ... [Malone's] book deserves to be read thoroughly and consulted frequently by anyone interested in our external relations. ― Shashi Tharoor, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, India
A wonderfully illuminating book on India's relations with the world informed both by remarkable expertise on diplomacy and foreign relations and by carefully acquired intimate knowledge of a very complex country. The book will enlighten not only Indians involved in public discussion and policymaking but also people across the world interested in an ancient land undergoing extraordinarily rapid transformation. ― Amartya Sen
With the analytical mind of a scholar and the perceptive eye of an experienced diplomat, David Malone ranges across history, geography, economics and strategy to provide a treatment of Indian foreign policy which is both lucid and profound. ― Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, former Deputy Secretary of State of the USA, and author of Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb
David Malone has written an impressively thorough and deeply insightful analysis of how a previously inward-looking India is now reaching out to the world. Comprehensive in scope, examining major themes and regions, it shrewdly brings history and economics to bear on our understanding of foreign policy. The work of a hugely skilled scholar-practitioner, this book is mandatory reading for diplomats and journalists, and for teachers and students in the social sciences. I would strongly recommend it to ambitious politicians and concerned citizens as well. ― Ramachandra Guha, Historian, Author of India After Gandhi
By daring to walk through Delhi's Tower of Babel, David Malone has produced a rewarding work on the sources and conduct of India's contemporary international relations. The capacity to differentiate between the 'signal' and the 'noise' in Delhi's rambunctious discourse and a deep empathy for India's aspirations allow Malone to excavate the obscure riches of India's new regional and global engagement. Undeterred by Delhi' self-referential discourse and unfettered from the Western preconceptions, Malone offers the most insightful guide yet to judging what kind of a power a rising India might become. ― C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and Contributing Editor of The Indian Express, New Delhi, author of Crossing the Rubicon: The Shaping of India's New Foreign Policy
About the Author
David M. Malone was appointed as President of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Malone served as Canada's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal. He has also served as a Canadian Ambassador at the United Nations. He has published extensively on peace and security issues, in book form and in journals. He has taught at Columbia University and the University of Toronto. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor at the New York University School of Law and is a Senior Fellow of Massey College in the University of Toronto. His most recent book is The Law and Practice of the United Nations (OUP, 2008). Previously, he wrote The International Struggle Over Iraq: Politics in the UNSecurity Council (OUP, 2006). With two co-editors, he is currently completing a volume on the contemporary governance crisis in Nepal.
