Geopolitical rivalry between India and China in Nepal

Abstract

Nepal as a small Himalayan nation lying between two Asiatic giants India and China, has a unique geopolitical location. The study examines the geopolitical rivalry between India and China over Nepal through the security interests, connectivity issues and natural resources aspects of Nepal. The study also analyzes the challenges of Nepal’s foreign policy considering the geopolitical perspective of India and China. The study is qualitative research focusing on content analysis, and the study centers on the realist approach. The study describes geopolitics as an independent variable and the three major sub-variables for the study of geopolitics are security, connectivity, and natural resources. The contradicting security perceptions and connectivity interests of India and China regarding Nepal have sometimes heightened Nepal’s challenge to balance her immediate neighbors. The unstable government, weak diplomatic mechanism, and existing trust deficiency of neighboring nations towards Nepal have raised geopolitical challenges as high as the Himalayas.