The Post 9-11 US Foreign Policy towards South Asia

Abstract

This study encompasses two of the most important and intricate areas of concern regarding the US policy for South Asia. The first policy issue concerns the balancing of regional geopolitical equation among the three key players—Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Through a qualitative analytical lens, it is argued here that an effective balancing of regional dynamics can only take place by eliminating the inherent contradiction in two of the current US policies in place—hyphenation and dehyphenation. Decompartmentalising India and Pakistan and viewing the regional geopolitics as an outcome of their mutual interaction could be the first step in simplifying the regional dynamics. The second policy concerns the rise of religious fundamentalism and the potential role of ideological factors. Two propositions are put forward. First, the study provides a potential mechanism based on supply and demand model to understand and accommodate political and ideological factors linked with the rise of violence. Second, in addressing whether and to what extent the USA should commit itself to the ideological warfare, the study provides one promising scenario based on the empirical findings drawn from one of the relatively successful cases of democracy and moderate Islam in the Muslim world.