Abstract
India's foreign policy since the end of the Cold War has undergone a remarkable transformation, driven by a complex interplay of structural, domestic, and ideational forces. This paper examines the principal determinants of Indian foreign policy in the post-Cold War era (1991–present), focusing on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing unipolar moment, the imperatives of economic liberalization, strategic autonomy as a core doctrinal preference, regional security dynamics in South Asia, the rise of Hindutva nationalism as an ideological variable, energy security considerations, and the evolving global multipolar order. Drawing upon realist, constructivist, and liberal institutionalist frameworks, the paper argues that Indian foreign policy is shaped by a layered hierarchy of drivers in which geopolitical realism provides the outer shell, economic pragmatism furnishes the connective tissue, and civilizational identity increasingly supplies the normative core. The paper concludes that India's trajectory as a rising power will continue to be defined by its pursuit of strategic autonomy within a framework of selective multilateral engagement.