Hindu theories of international relations

Abstract

The academic discipline of international relations (IR) has historically been dominated by West-centric materialist paradigms, marginalising non-Western epistemologies and normative frameworks. The dissertation addresses the epistemological gap by constructing structurally coherent Hindu theories of international relations, ontologically grounded in the foundational texts of the ancient Vedic Saṁhitās. Utilising a qualitative theory-building research design, the study synthesises Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics with the indigenous Hindu exegetical science of Mīmāṃsā to systematically extract macro-political principles from the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. The textual analysis is further triangulated with qualitative interviews conducted with elite diplomatic and philosophical experts. The research initiates a fundamental ontological shift within the discipline, replacing the concept of a competitive and anarchic void with Ṛta (Cosmic order) as the primary ordering principle of the international system. From this cosmocentric baseline, the study for mulates three distinct, interrelated theories. First, the Ṛta Rāṣṭra (Righteous State) theory redefines the sovereign state as a conditionally legitimate and functional vessel mandated to execute cosmic justice, structurally constrained by epistemic councils and collective civic duty. Second, the Sahakārya Mitratā (Coaction Alliance) theory conceptualises international partnerships not as fragile and threat-balancing marriages of convenience, but as enduring collaborations driven by ideational convergence and the equitable sharing of global resources. Third, the Anṛta Yuddha (Chaos War) theory reframes armed conflict as a highly regulated and restorative intervention against systemic entropy (Anṛta), rejecting the normalization of warfare as a rational policy instrument. A comparative analysis demonstrates that while the Vedic framework converges with Western theories on certain institutional mechanisms, it diverges by operating on a logic of appropriateness and cosmic determinism rather thanstrict rational egoism. Ultimately, the dissertation concludes that Hindu IR theories advance the “Global IR” agenda, offering a normative framework uniquely equipped to address twenty first-century existential crises through the institutionalisation of collective cosmic duty.