The economic, political, and military rise of India is reshaping world politics and promises to make India one of the United States’ most important partners in the 21st century. Expectations for potential cooperation are high and it has become commonplace to refer to the United States and India as “natural allies.” The reasons for optimism are manifold. The United States and India are diverse democracies that share common values and common interests on such issues as counter-terrorism, a stable Afghanistan, an open global trading regime, access to energy resources, climate change, and an expanded Indian geopolitical role.
However, despite these positive factors, the global interests of the two countries are considerably more complex. Potentially significant areas of friction remain on nearly every bilateral issue. Soaring political rhetoric about cooperation has yet to be translated into a sophisticated strategy for engagement.
The key to the future of the U.S.-India partnership is effective management of expectations and a clear vision of the strategic purpose of the bilateral relationship. To achieve that goal, a comprehensive framework is needed to study the many policy issues facing the two countries. Over the coming year, CNAS will explore various aspects of the relationship - security, economic, energy and climate change - in order to set an actionable agenda for cooperation. CNAS will convene a series of high-level dialogues between U.S. analysts and officials to discuss CNAS research on the partnership and help foster policy discussions among decision-makers in both countries.