The military standoff between Chinese and Indian troops in the disputed territory of Doklam brought forward the foreign policy dilemmas of Bhutan and its search for an optimal strategy toward its two neighboring big powers. This paper discusses Bhutan’s attempts to balance its overwhelming dependence on India with the necessity of normal diplomatic relations with China.

Phrases like “watershed,” “historic,” and “epochal” were used to describe India’s 2014 general election. The Bharatiya Janata Party secured the first single-party majority in three decades, forming the government as the National Democratic Alliance. We argue that the 16th Lok Sabha elections marked a realignment, not a clean break with the past.