Poland and South Asia

This book explores the political, economic, defence, and cultural relations of Poland with South Asia—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—since the late 1940s to the present. It examines how Polish preoccupation with gaining admission to NATO and the European Union led South Asia to fade into the margins of Polish foreign policy. It discusses key narratives and perceptions of South Asia in the Polish media and thinktanks, features of the South Asian diaspora in Poland, and assesses future prospects of Warsaw’s deepening political and economic engagement with the region. The pioneering book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Central/East European studies, International Relations, Indian foreign policy, Polish-Asian politics and foreign policy. Rajendra K. Jain was formerly Professor and Chairperson at the Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Visiting Professor at Warsaw University (February–May 2022). He was formerly Visiting Humboldt Foundation Fellow/Professor at Constance, Freiburg, Leipzig and Tübingen universities as well as Visiting Professor at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (Paris), the Asia-Europe Institute (Kuala Lumpur), and ICCR Professor of Contemporary India at Leuven University (2015). He has been the first Jean Monnet Chair in India. He has most recently published India and Europe in a Changing World: Context, Confrontation, Cooperation (Palgrave, 2023).