I have written about this before but I'll restate my basic points. I believe that the Indo-US relationship will be one of the defining developments in the coming century. Here are some of the reasons why
1. Individual freedom and political representation: The Indo-US relationship is bound to be the greatest example ever of how societies that value individual liberty and truly democratic governance can benefit from each other vs. the rise of autocratic China (the other defining development of the coming century). Sooner or later there will be a face off between the two philosophies and I hope the former wins.
2. Re-defining the fundamentals of international relationships: The one common feature that both India and the US share is that the true value of the nations rest in it's people and not the governments. Likewise the true potential of the Indo-US relationship can only be realized when the respective governments step back and merely play facilitator to fostering the people to people accord. This relationship will be the first of it's kind between a developed nation and a developing one.
3. Economic: Again, due to sheer size the biggest economic transactions in this century will be the infrastructural development of China and India. The best thing India can do to catch up is to implement American expertise. This will again have a massive economic impact on both countries for a variety of reasons.
3b. Fair trade: Unlike China India cannot artificially control it's currency which means, it is bound to be a far more equitable trade partner.
Potential Impediments: There are numerous potential challenges that can derail the above mentioned relationship:
This is actually a grossly simplified and poorly written post. But currently I just don't have the time to revise it.
1. Individual freedom and political representation: The Indo-US relationship is bound to be the greatest example ever of how societies that value individual liberty and truly democratic governance can benefit from each other vs. the rise of autocratic China (the other defining development of the coming century). Sooner or later there will be a face off between the two philosophies and I hope the former wins.
2. Re-defining the fundamentals of international relationships: The one common feature that both India and the US share is that the true value of the nations rest in it's people and not the governments. Likewise the true potential of the Indo-US relationship can only be realized when the respective governments step back and merely play facilitator to fostering the people to people accord. This relationship will be the first of it's kind between a developed nation and a developing one.
3. Economic: Again, due to sheer size the biggest economic transactions in this century will be the infrastructural development of China and India. The best thing India can do to catch up is to implement American expertise. This will again have a massive economic impact on both countries for a variety of reasons.
3b. Fair trade: Unlike China India cannot artificially control it's currency which means, it is bound to be a far more equitable trade partner.
Potential Impediments: There are numerous potential challenges that can derail the above mentioned relationship:
- Protectionism: India has a long history of shooting itself in the foot by instituting protectionism. On the other hand the American law makers are increasingly falling into the trap of turning to protectionism due to the current economic downturn. Both of them are grossly wrong.
- Right wing elements: While both countries have balanced societies due to their libertarian and democratic nature, there are influential right wing bigots on either side who are aggressively attempting to push their way into power. Although I doubt either one of these nations will ever end up being fascist states per se the constant battle between centrists and the right wing will be a distraction which will stunt growth.
- Government interference and/or ineptness: This is more so the case for India where the government controls everything and exploits that power to choke development- mostly for the sake of institutionalized corruption. Red tape-ism is the biggest hurdle for India and has to be done away with asap. As I said in point #2 the true potential of this relationship can only be met by promoting people to people accords with backing from the respective governments.
- Inability to shed old ideals: The US has to learn how to interact with nations with an equitable outlook. And Indians have to get over this constant paranoia that everything is a threat.
This is actually a grossly simplified and poorly written post. But currently I just don't have the time to revise it.