Intersecting circles of friends and enemies centered on a kingdom.
TheRajamandala (orrāja-maṇḍalalit.'circle of kings';[1]raja andmaṇḍala mean "king" and "circle" in Sanskrit respectively) theory, also known as themandala theory of foreign policy ormandala theory, postulates[2] that a neighboring state or neighbor of a natural friend is a natural enemy and that a neighbor of a natural enemy is a natural friend, resulting in alternating circles of enemies and allies centered on a given king's (raja) state.
It appears in the ancient Indian work on politics,Arthashastra (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE) byKautilya, traditionally identified withChanakya, and the theory has been called one of Kautilya's most important postulations regarding foreign policy.[3][4][5][2][6]
The term draws a comparison with themandala of theHindu andBuddhistworldview; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system. In particular, it postulates that a neighboring state or neighbor of a natural friend is a natural enemy and that a neighbor of a natural enemy is a natural friend, such that one can visualize a set of concentric circles emanating from any given state, with alternating circles including enemies and allies of that state respectively.[2]
The terminology was revived two millennia later as a result of twentieth-century efforts to comprehend patterns of diffuse but coherent political power.Metaphors such associal anthropologistTambiah's idea of a "galactic polity",[7] describe such political patterns as the mandala.HistorianVictor Lieberman preferred the metaphor of a "solar polity,"[8] as in theSolar System, where there is one central body, the Sun, and the components or planets of the Solar System.[9] The "Rajamandala" concept of ancient India was the prototype for theMandala model of South East Asian political systems in later centuries, established by British historianO. W. Wolters.[10][11]
^Torkel Brekke (2006), "Between Prudence and Heroism: Ethics of war in the Hindu tradition",The Ethics of War in Ancient Asia, Routledge, p. 124 Kulke; Rothermund (2004),A History of India, p. 350 Upinder Singh (2008),A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson Longman, p. 349
^Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja.World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.ISBN0-521-29290-5. Chapter 7, cited in Lieberman,Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context c. 800-1830. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003-2009ISBN978-0521804967. P. 33
^"Victor B. Lieberman".Professor of History, Department of History, appointed 1984.University of Michigan. February 4, 2005. Archived fromthe original(Biography) on July 22, 2011. RetrievedAugust 17, 2011.Center for Southeast Asian Studies
