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{
  "authors": [
    "Ashley J. Tellis"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
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  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
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  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "India"
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  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Military"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

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.

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By Ashley J. Tellis
Published on Oct 30, 2020
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South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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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.

      Ashley J. Tellis

Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow
SecurityMilitarySouth AsiaIndia

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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