Between ‘Concern’ and ‘Opportunity’: US Pivot to Asia and Foreign Policy Debate in India

Abstract

Underlined by China’s growth and the relative decline of the US, a transition of power is taking place in Asia-Pacific. To arrest its declining influence, the US has initiated a pivot to the region. India, being a regional rising power, has received special attention from the US as part of its strategy to manage Asia’s changing balance of power. On pivot, domestic foreign policy debate in India is highly fractured, however. Perceptions of the pivot in India range between viewing it as a ‘strategic concern’, on the one hand, and a ‘strategic opportunity’, on the other. This debate reflects the divide between two major schools in Indian foreign policy: Traditional Nationalists versus the Great Power Realists. Under Manmohan Singh, India foreign policy practice indicated a preference for ‘strategic autonomy’ as suggested by the Traditional Nationalists. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ascension to power suggests that India is now ready for greater engagement with the US on balancing China’s growing power in Asia, a position espoused by the Great Power Realists.