Month: February 2011

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Putting the Kashmiris into the Kashmir Issue

Teresita C. Schaffer’s book review of Navnita Chadha Behera’s Demystifying Kashmir.

Kashmir is the best-known dispute between India and Pakistan, yet Kashmir itself—its people, history, and problems—is remarkably little known outside a small group of specialists. Navnita Chadha Behera’s book, along with an earlier work, State, Identity and Violence: Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, is a most welcome remedy to this gap.

Originally published by the Brookings Institution Press in 2007. Read the entire review.

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Hillary Clinton’s Visit to India

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer on Hillary Clinton’s 2009 visit with the newly elected Indian government.

Her main objective was to give the Obama administration and the newly elected Indian government “ownership” of a relationship that both consider vitally important. She certainly did that, with a four-day blitz of high-profile media and serious official meetings. She hit all the high points that she had defined as “pillars” of the relationship, engaging with business leaders and showcasing visits to one of India’s premier women’s development organizations and to India’s first environmentally certified building. She signed two important new agreements, a Technical Safeguards Agreement permitting U.S.-licensed components to be used on Indian civilian spacecraft, and an agreement creating a $30-million endowment to fund science, technology, and innovation. The Indian government settled the end-use monitoring arrangements needed to permit major military sales from the United States and pledged to designate two sites for U.S. companies to build nuclear facilities. She launched a strategic dialogue with Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, which should be the instrument for more serious consultations on foreign policy issues, including both regional issues affecting South and East Asia and the big global issues that will shape the future of the world.

Originally published July 23, 2009 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Critical Questions. Read the entire article.

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The Strategic Implications of India’s Internal Security: Looking Back at Mumbai

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer and Sabala Baskar on security measures taken by the Indian government following the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, particularly as they pertain to Pakistan.

The November 2008 attacks in Mumbai are a reminder of the potential consequences of incidents that neither the Pakistani nor the Indian government can completely control. Specifically, the Mumbai episode demonstrated how quickly a seemingly stable India-Pakistan environment can deteriorate. Besides the familiar arguments for political leadership and persistent diplomacy between India and Pakistan, one factor in reducing this vulnerability is strengthening both governments’ means of detecting, preventing, and responding to such incidents.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on April 7, 2009. Read the entire article.

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India and Iran: Limited Partnership, High Stakes

An article by Teresita C. Schaffer and Suzanne Fawzi on the relationship between India and Iran in regard to energy trade, land access, and—of the most concern to the United States—defense.

In recent months, India’s ties with Iran have come under pressure as the civil-nuclear deal falters in New Delhi. Although maintaining positive relations with Washington is a critical foreign policy objective, India’s relations with Iran are important for reasons such as energy supply, geopolitics, and a symbol of India’s ability to retain an independent foreign policy or “strategic autonomy.” Although India and Iran share energy interests and some regional goals, there continues to be a wide gap between words and deeds.

Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ South Asia Monitor on December 20, 2007. Read the entire article.