US-India Relations in the Wake of China's Rise
Author
Larsen, Kristoffer
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-05-31
Pages
66
Abstract
This thesis examines why the United States and India have drawn closer over the past two decades and why, despite China’s rise, their cooperation has remained a strategic partnership (a quasi-alliance) rather than a formal treaty alliance. Using a qualitative approach grounded in defensive realism, it situates the evolving relationship within broader structural shifts in the international system—namely the relative decline of US dominance and China’s growing capabilities—and analyzes diplomatic, economic, and security developments such as civil nuclear cooperation and expanded defense ties. The study argues that external, system-level factors, especially the power transition marked by China’s ascent, are the primary drivers of the US–India rapprochement. At the same time, a desire to avoid escalating a security dilemma, India’s tradition of non-alignment and pursuit of strategic autonomy, uncertainty about each side’s capabilities and commitments, and India’s capability gap vis-à-vis China help explain why the relationship has not become a formal alliance. The thesis thus clarifies how power transitions and realist dynamics shape contemporary US–India relations.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor USA og Indien i de seneste to årtier er rykket tættere på hinanden, og hvorfor samarbejdet – på trods af Kinas fremvækst – er forblevet et strategisk partnerskab (en quasi-alliance) frem for en formel traktatbaseret alliance. Med en kvalitativ tilgang forankret i defensiv realisme placerer studiet det udviklende forhold i bredere strukturelle forskydninger i det internationale system, herunder USA’s relative tilbagegang og Kinas voksende kapacitet, og analyserer diplomatiske, økonomiske og sikkerhedsmæssige udviklinger såsom civilt nukleart samarbejde og udbygget forsvarssamarbejde. Specialet argumenterer for, at eksterne, systemiske faktorer – især magtovergangen præget af Kinas opstigning – primært forklarer tilnærmelsen mellem Washington og New Delhi. Samtidig peger det på hensynet til at undgå eskalation af et sikkerhedsdilemma, Indiens tradition for ikke-tilslutning og strategisk autonomi, usikkerhed om parternes kapaciteter og forpligtelser samt Indiens kapabilitetsgab i forhold til Kina som centrale grunde til, at relationen ikke er blevet en formel alliance. Derved belyser specialet, hvordan magtskifte og realistiske dynamikker former nutidens USA–Indien-relationer.
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