Pursuing globalism: Strategic rivalry and the continuity of economic openness

Scholarship on globalization and economic reform has debated at length the causes and consequences of economic openness. But it has neglected to theorize and specify the conditions under which a state continues policies toward economic openness despite changes in government and domestic political turmoil. This dissertation integrates insights from political economy with security studies to explain the continuity of policies toward openness. It contends that policy continuity is explained by a dialectic relationship between two variables: strategic context and globalism. A state that confronts the same rival in multiple arenas of competition---economic, military, diplomatic, technological---makes realist policy decisions under a "thick" context. Globalism refers to a strong desire to play a prominent role in world affairs. It is underpinned by a normative vision of where the state should be in the global distribution of power and status. The existence of a thick context in addition to the existence of a globalist ideology elevates the importance of international rivalry relative to domestic political exigencies, raises the costs of ad hoc policymaking, provides strong incentives for policy continuity, and helps justify both outward orientation and continuity to domestic constituencies. The study evaluates the theory by conducting a detailed historical study of India. I show that India's strategic context has become thick since the 1980s, and China as emerged as its outstanding rival in multiple arenas of competition. This provides Indian policymakers increasing incentives to strategically match China's policies toward openness. At the same time, Indian policymakers have aspired to see India emerge as a global power. They have interpreted China's economic and military advances as natural threats to India's bid for regional hegemony, and therefore urgent and policy relevant. Together India's thick strategic context and globalist aims have ensured steady policy continuity in spite of domestic political turmoil.