6 credits
Teacher responsible: Prof. Massimo Zaccaria
Other teachers: Prof. Axel Berkofsky
The object of the course is to analize India’s strategic engagement in the Indian Ocean region considering the growing influence of India on the international arena.
The first part of the course provides an historical introduction to the dominant role played by India in the long distance trade in the early modern period, with particular attention to the commerce between India, the Gulf areas and the coastal regions of East Africa.
The second part of the course concentrates on India’s efforts to control the Indian Ocean, on the importance of securing sea lanes and of acquiring facilities along the critical choke points, via its naval and maritime strategy.
The third part investigates the strengthening of Indo-African ties on the Indian Ocean routes of communication. It will explore India’s necessity for energy resources and its access to the hydro-carbon reserves of East Africa.
Preparatory Readings
Michael Pearson, The Indian Ocean , Routledge, London and New York, 2003.
Tirthankar Roy, India in the World Economy- From Antiquity to the Present, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi, 2012.
