Modi’s US Foreign Policy: Strategic Autonomy Redefined

Abstract

Since Narendra Modi came to power, there has been an upswing in the strategic ties between India and the United States. Historically, non-alignment and, later, strategic autonomy in India’s foreign policy discourse have been defined in opposition to the United States. India’s foreign policy has been held back from pursuing greater strategic alignment with the United States due to its anti-American prejudice. The paper contends that, Modi has redefined the ideological framework of strategic autonomy from non-alignment to issue-based alignment, which also entails cooperating closely with the United States pertaining to the strategic threats it confronts from China in the wider Indo-Pacific region. The paper argues that Modi believes pursuing closer strategic alignment with the United States enhances India’s “strategic autonomy,” vis-à-vis the strategic threats that it confronts. Modi has also abandoned the practice of taking ideological stands and instead redefined strategic autonomy in terms of pursuing India’s national interests. The major finding of the paper is that Modi has redefined the strategic autonomy on purely realistic grounds and has strengthened the strategic ties with the United States.