Nalini Iyer writes opinion columns that keep returning to the classical Indian strategic canon — Arthashastra, Chanakya Neeti, the Nitisara — and asking what those texts still teach a rising India with real state capacity. Her work treats statecraft as a practice with a long Indian lineage, not a Western import.
Recent work
The Arthashastra Frame: India's 2026 Trade Reset Through Kautilyan Eyes
India's 2026 trade negotiations with the US, EU, and selective SCO engagement reflect Kautilyan mandala theory and the four instruments of statecraft. The classical strategic canon provides a framework for understanding India's simultaneous pursuit of multiple economic partnerships as civilisational statecraft.