Asia Program
Events
India and the US Pivot to Asia
The US strategic plan is to continue providing global security with emphasis on “rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region.” Such a pivot is not new, but has been in play since the end of the Cold War, argues Robert M. Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The strategy requires a long-term partnership with India, as an economic and security anchor in the region. Priorities for both countries vary, particularly in regard to China, leading to divisions within each country as well. Many in India do not want their nation to take part in any Sino-American cold war or conflict and accuse the US of ignoring shenanigans from Pakistan. Indians are also wary about US plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and the likely resulting chaos. Both countries have conservatives who oppose reliance on partnerships and agreements that could constrain their military. Ultimately, Hathaway concludes, strength of nations as global actors depends on ensuring economic security and meeting domestic challenges. – YaleGlobal
The Caged Phoenix: Can India Fly?
Dipankar Gupta, one of India's foremost thinkers on social and economic issues, takes a critical—and controversial—look at the limits of the Indian success story in The Caged Phoenix.
Washington's New Strategic Partnership
Robert M. Hathaway, director of the Wilson Center's Asia Program, explores one of the most interesting partnerships in U.S. politics today - the emerging collaboration between the Indian-American and Jewish communities - in a new article in the New Delhi monthly Seminar. Indian-American leaders have recognized for many years that they could learn much from the Jewish community about using the U.S. political system effectively. But until rather recently, talk along these lines had not been followed with action. Now however, Hathaway reports, things are changing. For the full text of this article, go to http://www.india-seminar.com/semframe.htm and click on the June 2004 Issue.
Pakistan Scholar Simbal Khan Weighs in on U.S.-Pakistan Relationship
The Wilson Center's Pakistan Scholar offers insights about the U.S.-Pakistan relationship as President Obama prepares for his second term.
Natural Resources and National Security in India
India faces numerous national security challenges, argues program associate Michael Kugelman, and most are intertwined with natural resource constraints. In a December 28 op-ed for The Times of India, he argues that policymakers in New Delhi fail to make this connection at their own peril.