Introduction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Did India-US relations strengthen under Trump? Was there greater political, diplomatic, strategic, and defense cooperation between the two largest democracies in the world under the Trump administration? Was there increasing convergence or divergence at the bilateral and multilateral level, in relations with third countries, and in the realm of regional security and geopolitics? This special issue answers these questions and highlights that answers are not straight forward, but more nuanced than one might expect. Contributors reach the following conclusions. First, bilateral ties received a significant boost in the Modi-Trump era because of the camaraderie between the two leaders and shared apprehensions about China’s rise and aggressive foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific. Second, despite the burgeoning partnership between the two countries, there were areas of both convergence and divergence between the two countries under the Trump administration regarding democracy, trade and commerce, the UN, multilateralism and global governance, and climate change, relations with third countries including China, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, and in the realm of regional security and geopolitics in the context of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). Third, the Trump administration, especially President Trump, played a significant role in mitigating or exacerbating the convergence/divergence in almost all the issue areas.