The evolution of the closer relationship between the United States and India

Résumé du document

Since its independence and the end of the cold war, India has evolved considerably. Nowadays, India's power is rising like its influence on the international scene and the emergence of India as a major Asian power is a matter of fact. Indeed, thanks to diverse advantageous characteristics, India appears as an emerging superpower at the beginning of this 21st century (Wikipedia 2006). Its huge population over one billion citizens, its strategic geographical location, its rising economy and possession of rich natural resources give India the necessary dimension to play an important international role. Often compared to China in a least extent, India's economy has gradually and considerably grown over the past years. Its foreign relations have also improved and India is now closer to China even though disagreements still persist. But the most particular proximity is the one with the United States. Indeed, the India-United States relationship has been increasingly close in recent years. This essay aims to discuss the relationship between India and the United States and the recent closeness that characterises it. The first important point to make is the evaluation of India's rise. In fact, the country has been considerably transformed as its economic situation has highly risen and its foreign relations, with China for instance, improved. We will then focus on India's ties with the United States, and analyze the dimensions of that closeness. We will finally try to evaluate some of the factors explaining this closer India-United States relationship.

Extraits

[...] The Evolution of the Closer Relationship between the United States and India Introduction Since its independence and the end of the cold war, India has evolved considerably. Nowadays, India's power is rising like its influence on the international scene and the emergence of India as a major Asian power is a matter of fact. Indeed, thanks to diverse advantageous characteristics, India appears as an emerging superpower at the beginning of this 21st century (Wikipedia 2006). Its huge population over one billion citizens, its strategic geographical location, its rising economy and possession of rich natural resources give India the necessary dimension to play an important international role. [...]

[...] Finally, the Chinese phenomena will also be a useful topic to discuss. In fact, it is likely that the United States has some interests in being close to India, the sole potential balance to China in the Asia-Pacific region. It is then likely that India may have in the future to refine or redefine its relations with both the United States and China. To sum up, the essay will attempt to understand the American strategic interests in this proximity with India. [...]

[...] Consequently, even if India is quite often compared to China because both are rising, it is known and proved that India is growing less and rising less than China. This table provided by Morrisson and Kronstadt in a report called “India-US Economic Relation” for the United States Department of State in 2003, illustrates this gap between India and China. These figures illustrate how China has grown faster than India, creating a bigger gap year after year. Thus, while Chinese per capita GDP increased 3,310 between 1990 and 2002, Indian per capita GDP only experienced an increase of 1,210. [...]

[...] These figures belong to the fastest rates of economic rises in the world and had numerous positive consequences on India. Thus, this economic rise has first changed the society, with the emergence of a middle class with a higher purchasing power and higher standards of living. It reduced poverty even though it is still an issue as one-third of the population is still living with less than 2 dollars a day. The gross domestic product with its growth rate of reached the US$ 3.63 trillion and increased the purchasing power parity of the population. [...]

[...] These events and the participation of India considerably ameliorated the India-United States relations. Another essential dimension that considerably encouraged the India-United States relationship to be strengthened is the important Indo-American community in the United States. In fact, according to the Encyclopaedia Wikipedia, the Indian Diaspora began one hundred years ago, and results today in 2.5 million Indian people living in the United States (Wikipedia 2006). The Indian population is well presented in professional fields such as information technology or medicine. [...]