In the post-Cold War era, with the emergence of an independent Namibia and a democratic South Africa, the main agenda that had brought India and Africa together—the fight against colonialism and institutionalised racialism—has disappeared. India’s Africa policy indicates a slight change as also some consistency in the post-Cold War era. It appears to be composed of five mantras: promoting economic cooperation, engaging the people of Indian origin, preventing and combating terrorism, preserving peace and assisting the African defence forces.

American security policy towards South Asia can basically be divided into three stages: balance of power in the Cold War era, beyond balance of power after the end of Cold War, and new balance of power after September 11.

The scourge of terrorism has haunted Indian policy-makers since independence. Some of the states, particularly the bordering states, having different cultural and ethnic composition from the heartland, suffered from a real or perceived sense of neglect and misgovernance. Inimical powers exploited this aspect and sowed seeds of sedition and secession amongst some sections of society of these states-particularly the states of the North-East, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir-by providing them with arms training and financial support and instigated them to take up arms against the state machinery.

Policies of the developed world continue to affect the domestic as well as foreign policies of China and India in the post-Cold War period. The US war against terrorism in Afghanistan has drawn China closer to the US. This has set new parameters for Sino-Indian relationship. Economic reasons dominated the relations among nations in the 1990s, but the scare of terrorism has forged a global coalition and middle powers have few options to choose independent policies.

This paper examines the nature of the emerging international security system and its positive and negative implications for India's security calculus. The key features of the international security system are confrontation, and cooperation and accommodation, and these often up several possibilities of threats, challenges and opportunities for India. To India's credit, despite the worsening of its geo-strategic environment, the country's policy-making structures have displayed the capacity to remain flexible and responsive to changes for furthering its security and national interests.

This paper attempts to examine the changing dynamics of the interface between diplomacy and news media with emphasis on the Indian context. American examples, opinions and trends have been taken into consideration to impart a comparative perspective to the paper. It has been carried out in the light of the brief history of diplomatic reporting in India, the linkages and issues involved in the relationship between the Indian Foreign Office and media as well as the role and limitations of television in the formulation and conduct of foreign policy.