Indo-US relations under Modi: the strategic logic underlying the embrace

• Published in: International affairs (London) 2017-01, Vol.93 (1), p.133-146
• Main Authors: PANT, HARSH V., JOSHI, YOGESH
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: India’s rise at 70
• ISSN: 0020-5850; 1468-2346
• DOI: 10.1093/ia/iiw028

This article examines the transformation in Indo-US relations in the first two years of the Modi government. It first discusses the state of Indo-US relations before Modi’s ascent to the premiership in May 2014. The challenges confronting the relationship were not strictly bilateral; Modi’s image and its historical baggage had also made them personal. Subsequently, the article elaborates on the significant progress made in the bilateral relationship during the first two years of the Modi government. The concluding section explains the rationale behind Modi’s outreach to the United States. Three factors appear to have had a significant influence: a conviction that India’s developmental priorities cannot be met without substantive cooperation with the US; the strong political authority Modi enjoys within his own party and in the Indian parliament; and the structural changes in India’s security environment brought about by an aggressive China and its growing strategic convergence with Pakistan, leading to a re-think on ‘non-alignment’ as a guiding principle of foreign policy.