As a rising India has sought both standing and recognition in the international system, observers have debated whether revisionist or status quo tendencies have characterized the country’s engagement with the outside world since the end of the Cold War. One way to gain insight into such issues is to study the behavior of its apex leaders. Face-to-face diplomacy and high-level visits are an increasingly prominent feature of India’s international relations. Given the scarce nature of senior officials’ time, where they choose to travel can serve as a key indicator of their priorities. Employing an original data set, we analyze the factors shaping foreign travel by Indian prime ministers and foreign ministers between 1992 and 2019. These indicate that strategic interests—rather than ideological affinity with the Global South, domestic politics, or bureaucratic routine—have the primary role in shaping India’s foreign engagement. Since foreign visits are purposeful, where Indian leaders travel can be assessed for indicators of revisionist or status quo leanings in the country’s foreign policy. Although examination of the specific patterns of overseas visits does not indicate definitive membership of either camp, they do highlight aspects of India’s contested relationship with the current international order.

中文翻译：

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非常驻首相？通过领导力旅行衡量印度的外交政策取向


随着崛起的印度在国际体系中寻求地位和认可，观察家们一直在争论自冷战结束以来该国与外部世界交往的特点是修正主义还是现状倾向。深入了解此类问题的一种方法是研究其最高领导人的行为。面对面外交和高层互访是印度国际关系日益突出的特点。鉴于高级官员的时间稀缺，他们选择去哪里旅行可以作为他们优先事项的关键指标。利用原始数据集，我们分析了 1992 年至 2019 年间印度总理和外长出国旅行的影响因素。这些都表明，战略利益——而不是与全球南方的意识形态亲和力、国内政治或官僚主义惯例——在塑造印度的对外参与中起着主要作用。由于出访是有目的的，因此可以评估印度领导人的出访地点，以了解该国外交政策中修正主义或现状倾向的指标。尽管对海外访问的具体模式的考察并不能表明这两个阵营的最终成员身份，但它们确实突出了印度与当前国际秩序之间有争议的关系的各个方面。