In 2020, Jeff M. Smith wrote “Strategic Autonomy and U.S.-Indian Relations” where he argued that the evolution of India’s foreign policy from non-alignment to strategic autonomy alleviates previous constraints and offers the United States an opportunity to enhance U.S.-Indian relations. Four years later, we invited Jeff back to explore his previous assertion. Read more below. Image: U.S. Navy (Photo by Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class Markus Castaneda)In your article “Strategic Autonomy and U.S.-Indian Relations,” written in 2020, you argued that Indian foreign policy principle non-alignment had evolved into strategic autonomy removing some of non-alignment’s constraints and that such a paradigm shift presented the United States with an opportunity to improve U.S.-Indian relations. Over the past four years, how have U.S.-Indian relations changed, and how has strategic autonomy evolved? The last four years have been a story of relative consistency in Indian-U.S. ties. In a rare point of bipartisan consensus, the Biden administration has mostly built on the Trump administration’s eager outreach to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It hosted Modi for a state visit, elevated the Quad grouping that also includes Australia and Japan, and started a new initiative on critical and emerging technology cooperation, iCET. The consistency is more notable given how sharply many progressive groups have turned against the Modi government since 2019. A wave of alarm calls and headlines about the supposed death of Indian democracy and rise of Hindu nationalism has not dissuaded the Biden administration from emphasizing strategic convergence, downplaying differences, and insisting the two countries will discuss human rights as “equals.” The relationship is arguably becoming “too big to fail.” That doesn’t mean strategic autonomy hasn’t evolved over the past few years — just that the United States was not the major catalyst. Aside from its longstanding rivalry with Pakistan, contemporary Indian foreign policy has largely been shaped by its navigation of great
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In 2020, Jeff M. Smith wrote “Strategic Autonomy and U.S.-Indian Relations” where he argued that the evolution of India’s foreign policy from non-alignment to strategic autonomy alleviates previous constraints and offers the United States an opportunity to enhance U.S.-Indian relations. Four years later, we invited Jeff back to explore his previous assertion. Read more below. Image: U.S. Navy (Photo by Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class Markus Castaneda)In your article “Strategic Autonomy and U.S.-Indian Relations,” written in 2020, you argued that Indian foreign policy principle non-alignment had evolved into strategic autonomy removing some of non-alignment’s constraints and that such a paradigm shift presented the United States with
