The PM’s famed ‘hugplomacy’ was again on full display during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit, right from the protocol-breaking bear hug on touchdown, which has become something of a signature move. The visiting dignitary seemed somewhat more ready to reciprocate Modi’s excessively effusive greeting than his predecessor Francois Hollande. This points, at a superficial level, to the thoroughness of the protocol briefing that Macron evidently received from his aides; more important, it signals a keenness on the French leader’s part to elevate his country’s relations with India to a strategic partnership.

Modi has responded to criticism of his ‘jadoo ki jappi’ style of conducting international diplomacy by claiming that his unfamiliarity with formal protocol considerations reflects his earthy ‘commoner’ roots. Even if that were true, such an approach places a premium on ‘personal chemistry’ with world leaders in the pursuit of bilateral relations, which is a borderline simplistic and reductionist world view. The limits of that weltanschauung were shown up starkly following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent diplomatically disastrous visit: right after receiving a bone-crushing hug, Trudeau accused India of implanting a Khalistani supporter in his official delegation. Modi’s dramatic stopover in Pakistan in December 2015 had yielded a ‘Kodak moment’, but little by way of bilateral goodwill.

There is an even graver risk in personalising the pursuit of international relations. As the experience of US President Donald Trump’s conduct of a similar ‘I-Me-Myself’ style of diplomacy has demonstrated, foreign leaders can extract concessions from such leaders by pandering to their attention-seeking instincts and offering prized photo-ops. The string of recent foreign policy setbacks under Modi’s watch should perhaps occasion an arm’s length approach on his part to the conduct of diplomatic relations.

Venky Vembu , Associate Editor

comment COMMENT NOW