Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Background: The 2005 Moment
- In 2005, India–U.S. relations stood at the cusp of a historic strategic transformation.
- The U.S. explicitly stated its intent to help India become a major world power.
- This reflected American confidence that strengthening rising powers would stabilise global order.
- The belief underpinned the civil nuclear agreement and a partnership based on shared optimism.
- Strategic engagement rested on mutual confidence and expansive internationalist thinking.
Shift Reflected in 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy
- The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) adopts a self-congratulatory and defensive tone.
- It projects America as recovering from catastrophe, signalling deep internal insecurity.
- Strategy appears focused on domestic reassurance rather than global leadership vision.
- Global leadership is portrayed as a burden rather than a responsibility to be embraced.
From Partnership to Burden-Sharing
- The U.S. now declares it will no longer “prop up” the global order.
- Leadership is framed as a cost to be minimised, not a shared global good.
- The emphasis shifts from system-building to lightening America’s strategic load.
- This marks a retreat from the internationalist confidence evident in 2005.
Changing U.S. Approach towards India
- India is acknowledged, but primarily as part of U.S. China-balancing strategy.
- Cooperation is presented as instrumental, not civilisational or transformative.
- India is viewed as a contributor to Indo-Pacific security via the Quad.
- India’s rise is no longer an objective but a means to U.S. balance-of-power goals.
Strategic Autonomy: Then and Now
- In 2005, U.S. discomfort existed with India’s emphasis on strategic autonomy.
- In 2025, America itself asserts expansive unilateral autonomy, labelling it realism.
- The “Trump Corollary” signals inward turn and hemispheric exclusivity.
- This exposes an irony in shifting American attitudes towards autonomy.
Implications for India
- The U.S. now demands more from partners while offering less strategic investment.
- Shared interests persist, but shared responsibilities are shrinking.
- U.S. support is increasingly conditional and limited.
- India’s rise can no longer depend on external strategic sponsorship.
The Path Forward for India
- India must recognise the changed foundations of bilateral cooperation.
- Strategic confidence and material capacity must drive India’s global role.
- The era of widening U.S. horizons has ended; India’s responsibilities are expanding.
- India must craft an independent role suited to its scale, interests, and civilisation.
- The aspiration of 2005 endures, but its realisation rests solely with India.