The Evolution of U.S.-Indian Ties: Missile Defense in an Emerging Strategic Relationship

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In The Media

The Evolution of U.S.-Indian Ties: Missile Defense in an Emerging Strategic Relationship

Missile defenses have come to reflect both an example of, and a means toward, the steady improvement in U.S.-Indian ties occurring in recent years. A deepening bilateral relationship has become part of New Delhi's larger solution to increasing India's capacity to defeat those threats requiring active defenses in the future.

By Ashley J. Tellis

Published on May 11, 2006

Source: International Security

The shift in Indian positions on missile defense in the context of the growing transformation of U.S.-Indian relations since the end of the Cold War, and particularly since the advent of the George W. Bush administration, has been remarkable. Factors such as the dissolution of U.S.-Indian antagonism, threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and their associated delivery systems in the hands of hostile states, and the Indian and American desire to forge a new partnership grounded in democratic values and oriented toward promoting geopolitical equilibrium in Asia, have produced a dramatic new acceptance of strategic defenses as conducive to stability on the part of New Delhi.

In International Security article, “The Evolution of U.S.-Indian Ties: Missile Defense in an Emerging Strategic Relationship,” Carnegie Senior Associate, Ashley J. Tellis argues that what is fascinating about this evolution is the manner in which missile defenses have come to reflect both an example of, and a means toward, the steady improvement in U.S.-Indian ties occurring in recent years. This, in turn, implies that a deepening bilateral relationship has become part of New Delhi's larger solution to increasing India's capacity to defeat those threats requiring active defenses in the future.

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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
- Ashley J. Tellis
Commentary
India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire.
- Ashley J. Tellis

Nuclear Policy North America United States 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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