I have just received a note from Ram Narayanan of the US-India Friendship that I thought I should share with you all - Harish
"INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Reinventing Partnership."
by Teresita C. Schaffer
Dear Harish:
Ambassador Teresita C. Schaffer is director of South Asia Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. Earlier she was ambassador to Sri Lanka and also served in the State Department as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia.
She has just published a book titled, "INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Reinventing Partnership." (To get a copy of the book, price $22.95, click:http://www.csisbookstore.org/).
I have not had a chance to read the book. However, from a summary of its contents, I observe that the new book "examines the astonishing new strategic partnership between the United States and India. Unlike other books on the subject, it brings together the two countries’ success in forging bilateral relations and their relatively skimpy record of seeking common ground on global issues despite the vibrant new network of bilateral ties."
Following is a synopsis of the book provided by the author. (I have highlighted the passages which bring out her deep understanding of the issues that will shape the US-India relationship in the 21st century):
*****
The revolution in U.S.-India relations started in the 1990s, and rested on three foundations. The first was the acceleration of India’s economic growth. Starting in 1980, but especially after 1990, India morphed from a rather slow-moving and inward-looking economy based largely on agriculture to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Next, at least in chronological order, came the end of the Cold War, which reoriented both U.S. and Indian foreign policy away from the traditional focus on a world divided into two major blocs, with a nonaligned group in between. India came to look on economic performance as a critical element in its national power and foreign policy. Russia was no longer India’s key international relationship: that role was now played by the United States.
Finally, the growth and prosperity of the Indian-American community created new bonds between the two countries, outside the ambit of government and closer to the day to day experience of Indians and Americans.
Against this background, India and the United States began in the 1990s to build the bilateral infrastructure for a serious relationship. The United States became India’s largest trading partner. The information technology industries in both countries were joined at the hip. India sent over 80,000 students to American universities.
These are all private relationships, but the government side expanded as well. For the first time, India and the United States developed a serious security relationship, with regular military contacts, a sophisticated strategic dialogue, and the beginnings of military trade. And during the latter part of the current decade, India and the United States started to overcome the big taboos that had inhibited their ties. The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP - an agreement on export controls and liberalization of export licensing) led the way; the civil India-U.S. nuclear agreement was a dramatic change in U.S. policy.
This expansion of bilateral relationships is the big success story, built by both major parties in both countries. At the same time, India’s economic growth and thirst for energy created important common interests going beyond the bilateral. The two governments have not yet taken advantage of these to develop a common vision of the world, or at least parts of a common vision.
This is what both countries need to do now if they are to make the “strategic partnership” that both talk about into a reality. For U.S. strategic thinkers, Asia is increasingly the centerpiece of U.S. policy. The United States does not wish to see Asia dominated by a single country; it much prefers the prospect of a balance of peaceful engagement that includes all the major powers in Asia – China, Japan, and India, with the United States continuing to act as an “offshore Asian power.” This largely dovetails with India’s hopes for the region. But they have done relatively little to probe each other’s strategic thinking along these lines, or to develop parallel policies.
Indian Ocean security is another area where India and the United States have interests in common. The strong relationship between the two navies reflects this, but once again, there is much more that could be done to build up this understanding of common interests.
In the Middle East, India and the United States have focused on different priorities, especially when it comes to Iran. But even there, both countries have important reasons to seek stability and continued economic expansion in the Persian Gulf region.
Pakistan is of course a long-standing bone of contention between India and the United States. But even on Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are important points of convergence between Indian and American interests. India has no interest in seeing a resurgence of Islamic extremism or a meltdown in government authority in either place – and neither does the United States.
India and the United States regularly spar in multilateral settings, but here too, there are areas of important cooperation, especially peacekeeping. Big global issues will be on the international agenda in the coming decade, including climate change, nuclear proliferation, and international financial reform. These cannot be addressed without both the United States and India.
This makes a strong case for taking the U.S.-India partnership global – for undertaking the painstaking work required to figure out which of these global issues are ripe now for collaboration, which require some form of mutual compromise, and where these two giant countries will need to “agree to disagree.”
Complicating this task are two disconnects in their policy. First, despite the changes in its foreign policy, India remains attached to the notion of “strategic autonomy,” meaning that no country should appear to have undue influence on India’s foreign policy. This makes India a bit reluctant to work too closely with the United States in an international setting. Second, India’s priority has been on bilateral issues, whereas for the United States, the big prize has been a global relationship.
This means that we need to develop a new model for partnership. We have different histories of partnership. For the United States, most partners have started out with a common security vision, and the bilateral relationship has been built on this basis. Moreover, most partners of the United States are much smaller than the U.S. With India, things work the other way round: the bilateral has come first, and India is not prepared to enter into an unequal relationship.
A new model of partnership based on equality and on a willingness to recognize both similarities and differences will need to be built over time. This book recommends that India and the United States continue building up their bilateral ties, but start now to take the relationship global.
To do this, it advises a policy of inclusion and candor, with the United States helping to move India into global and regional councils of leadership. At the outset, organizations like the G-20, which work discreetly behind closed doors, will be the easiest to manage. But taking India’s ideas and leadership credentials seriously is the way to ensure that India takes equally seriously the views of the U.S. on how the globe should organize for the big problems it confronts.
A final thought on democracy. It is the most important unifying theme in the values Indians and Americans hold dear. It is also, quite often, a complicating factor in their relations. The things that leaders say in order to please their constituents are very different in Delhi and in Washington. However, when the bond of democracy coincides with the more practical connection of similar interests, you have the chance for a “foreign policy sweet spot.” That is the potential both countries now need to take advantage of.
*****
Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. Ambassador to India says:
"This book is essential to understanding the present state of U.S.-India relations and the prospects for the future. It is well organized, comprehensive, balanced, thoughtful, and full of the kind of insight that not only makes for good reading but even better understanding."
David Good, chief representative for North America, Tata Sons Ltd. says:
"Ambassador Schaffer’s book puts into clear focus why all the effort that has gone into improving U.S.-India relations is worth it, and more importantly, how that new relationship can be put to use by President Obama in tackling global issues that threaten all of us. It’s an extremely important book that should be read by anyone dealing with international policymaking."
This week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has completed what looks like a successful five-day visit to India. Some key decisions have been taken in New Delhi to further strengthen the US-India relationship, which she said will be her personal priority.
Ambassador Schaffer’s book has come out at the right time to serve as a guide for the policymakers in Washington and New Delhi.
Cheers,
Ram Narayanan
US-India Friendship
http://usindiafriendship.net/
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