Nepal and Bhutan two similar nations with different strategic approach towards their big neighbors-India and China

Abstract: There have has been instances when a powerful neighboring countries are observed as being difficulty for the smaller ones. Moreover, the phenomena of subjugation roots back to imperialism era and its loitered notion of superiority is still practiced by most of the developed and sturdy countries. But the most vital thing here to be considered is the other nations’ (or smaller nations’) action against the dominance, which sometimes is demonstrated either in a resilient fashion or completely in submissive manner. In the era of globalization where nations’ relationship is intricate in a complex web of dependency, the nations with limited resources, weak diplomacy and instable politics are mostly compelled to succumb itself in front of relatively huge powers. And if the powerful states happens to be the immediate neighbors than the things might get more complex. In addition to this, the situation can be worse if the nation is a Least Developed Country (LDC hereafter) and also Land Locked States like Nepal and Bhutan. This research paper intends to analyze situation of such two nations, namely Nepal and Bhutan that are squeezed between China– a rising global power and India- an aspiring regional power. The interfering and controlling nature of these giants, at times, through diplomatic and coercive tactics has been evident in both the nation. But, despite the similarities these two small countries are seen to have adopted different strategies while dealing with their neighbors. If we look at Nepal we can see that it has developed bilateral relation with its both neighbors. And Bhutan has bilateral relation only with India and still has not welcomed China in its friendship zone, and this puzzle drives the research paper. The paper attempts to understand the situation from the lens of realism, as the theory implies that the nation is the nucleus and whatever action it undertakes is based on the advantage and mostly concerned in their individual power growth. It believes that any nation’s behavior does not involve the utopian notion but functions solely on the self-indulgence manner. Furthermore, the paper has tried to make an analysis with the help of inductive theory. The research finds that realism along is to sufficient to understand the small country’s perspective. There are many other factors that have contributed in making the strategic choices that these small countries have opted in order to establish a certain kind of relationship with their neighbors. Along with this the area of study needs to be broadened in order to comprehend the situation completely.