New Delhi
15 July 2005
If the debate over India-US relations in Washington, ahead of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's visit to that country is any indicator, the Bush administration's intention to
cement the strategic partnership is predicated as much by a desire to nip the "problems related
to state failure" in India's neighbourhood as it is to contain China.
A publication of the Pentagon-supported Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which was
released on Thursday, suggests that the strategic dialogue between the world's biggest and
largest democracies could also serve as a forum to coordinate strategies for dealing with what
could be the next major case of "political implosion" in South Asia.
"[The] problems of regional order [are] united by an overarching theme: the need to cope with
state failure in almost every political entity on India's periphery -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar," writes Mumbai-born Ashley J Tellis in his report titled
"India as a New Global Power: An Action Agenda for the United States".
India, the report reads, remains an island of democratic values and political stability in a region
convulsed by religious fanaticism, illiberal governments, state sponsors of terrorism, and
economic stasis. If only because of sheer proximity, India is the entity most affected by the
string of state failures in southern and southeastern Asia.
"But as the example of 9/11 demonstrates, the United States may not be very far behind if the
arteries of globalization allow one or more of the region's many disaffected groups to export
violence.... [Both countries] ought to pay special attention to developing common [strategies] for
dealing with problems related to state failure in the region."
On Pakistan, the policy brief says the infrastructure supporting the jihadi groups warring against
India remains intact and continues to enjoy comprehensive state support despite Pakistan's
prominence in the global war against terrorism. Dwelling on Afghanistan, it states the state-
building process is by no means complete.
"Nepal [appears] to be cascading toward state failure, with serious consequences not only for
current US policy but for stable Sino-Indian relations as well," it reads. On Myanmar, the policy
brief says that country's growing relationship with China does not augur well for the balance of
power in the region.
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