U.S. security cooperation with India and Pakistan: a comparative study

Abstract

This thesis examines whether the growing U.S.-Indian defense cooperation will serve regional peace and security or U.S. interests, particularly if more India means less Pakistan in the U.S. defense-cooperation calculus. It also assesses the viability of decoupling U.S. security cooperation with India from that with Pakistan. As regards the immediate U.S. agenda in the regiona reduced U.S. military footprint and an increased Indian military footprint in Afghanistanthe prospects do not appear to be very bright. This thesis adopts the comparative approach, commencing with the exploration of primary sources. Built on scholarship from all sides of the South Asian question, it elucidates the strategic concerns that have shaped U.S. security cooperation in the region to date and the ramifications in the near and medium term of the likeliest strategic and political decisions to emerge, particularly as the United States shifts gears in Afghanistan and other contender powers, including India, orient themselves for the next challenges.