SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS DETERMINING INDIAS POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION

The end of the Cold War, globalization, internal and external factors have determined India's international strategy and its position in international relations. India, as other nations aspiring to major-power status, not only attempts to improve and expand its economic and military potential, but also to actively participate in international political, economic and cultural relations. Thanks to its economic reforms, modernized army, developing nuclear programme and geopolitical situation following the end of the Cold War, in the opinion of many scholars, India can already be considered an emerging power. India, however, still faces considerable challenges and constraints. They are connected with both internal (economic, cultural) and international (global, regional) factors, which adversely affect India's position on the international stage. If India is to play an increasingly important role in the world, it must carry out necessary internal reforms, mainly in the fields of education and economy. Fulfilling these conditions, especially the latter two, can determine if India will still be called a potential power, an emerging power, or as some classify it, a power that is 'always emerging but never quite arriving'. Improving the efficiency of the economy, further liberalization, increasing investment, better access to education - these factors will certainly contribute to advancing India's position, and it will also force its critics to acknowledge India's major-power status.