Deconstructing media narratives of the Indo-Pacific strategy: Exploring India’s ontological security and national identity in the Times of India

Abstract

India’s attempt to forge a distinct role for itself in the global order started soon after independence in 1947. Since this watershed event, India’s policymakers have gradually recast their initial strategy of nonalignment, as they realized that Nehruvian “soft” power was not adequate for creating an especially dynamic presence in an increasingly volatile international environment. In response to this realization, India embarked on a journey of transforming its diplomatic benchmarks. In 2017, to counter China’s assertiveness across the region, India joined then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s advocacy in launching the Indo-Pacific strategy. Transforming the nation’s diplomatic benchmarks while maintaining a coherent narrative of national identity was the main challenge. This paper examines the role that media narratives play in maintaining that coherent national identity. To do so, we analyzed 47 reports by the Times of India (TOI) on the Indo-Pacific strategy in order to reveal how elite media strategically framed the nation’s regional policy, thereby ensuring its ontological security—its sense of continuity and order—while conveying its global aspirations.