India: Capable but Constrained

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Other

India: Capable but Constrained

The Indian Armed Forces are large and competent, but they face significant internal security challenges as well as major external dangers from China and Pakistan.

By Ashley J. Tellis

Published on Oct 30, 2020

Source: United States Army War College Press

Key Points

The Indian Armed Forces are large and competent, but they face significant internal security challenges as well as major external dangers from China and Pakistan.
An underperforming economy has constrained military budgets and largely confined the Indian military to ensuring internal security and protecting the country’s frontiers.
Indian policy makers have expressed an interest in the country playing a more significant role in the wider Indo-Pacific region, but they still eschew the kind of strategic partnerships that would make enhanced power projection possible.

Read Full Text

This chapter was originally published in A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners—Second Edition, by the United States Army War College Press.

About the Author

Ashley J. Tellis

Former Senior Fellow

Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Recent Work

Paper
Multipolar Dreams, Bipolar Realities: India’s Great Power Future
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Commentary
India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire.
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Security Military South Asia India

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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