Author: Teresita C. Schaffer

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Capacity and Resolve: Foreign Assessments of American Power

The United States is not seen in India as a declining power. [Indian commentators] do, however, express concern that the United States is not mobilizing its sources of power as effectively as it might. Indian elites with a range of backgrounds and interests fervently hope that the United States will remain powerful and will use its power wisely.

Read assessments of how ten key countries evaluate shifting patterns of U.S. power in the world. Teresita Schaffer’s chapter on India, “Continued Primacy, Diminished Will,” is on pp. 56-65. Full text, published on the CSIS web site June 2011.

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Book Review: Sri Lanka – “Nation-Building”

In late May 2009, I happened to be visiting Rome, walking on a Sunday afternoon with my Rome-based brother near one of the city’s

Photo by Marcus Spring, http://www.flickr.com/photos/springm/3542590882/sizes/m/in/photostream/

lovely parks, when we noticed a huge and apparently cheerful crowd of people at the nearby Sri Lankan embassy… We spent about 45 minutes enjoying Sri Lankan hospitality and some delicious kiri-bath. In that short time, the Ambassador and two members of his staff each pulled me aside and spoke earnestly of the importance of creating genuine reconciliation in the country. It was a moment of honesty and hope.

Gnana Moonesinghe’s wide-ranging collection of essays is another response to that moment, in the same spirit. She sets the tone in the Editor’s Note that begins the volume: “This publication is a response to the post war dilemma of how best to bring together the different communities and build a nation on strong foundations, of inclusivity, fairness, justice, equality and contentment for all.”

Read my review of Gnana Moonesinghe’s book Nation-Building, published in the Colombo Sunday Times July 10, 2011.

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Changing the Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi

June 21, 2011: Peter Burleigh is just arriving in Delhi for his second stint in less than three years as the U.S. chargé d’affaires during what is expected to be a long interregnum between ambassadors. This is a useful time to reflect on how ambassadors figure in the shaping of U.S.-India ties, and how well both countries are tending the diplomatic side of their emerging relationship.

  Continue reading “Changing the Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi”

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Riding the Roller Coaster: Excerpt – Dealing with India in the US-Pakistan Relationship

In its dealings with the United States, Pakistan starts from the threat it perceives from India and emphasises India’s shortcomings. It will continue to use the United States as a balancer, barring a major improvement in India-Pakistan relations.

This excerpt from our book describes on the basis of our experience and extensive interviews how we believe Pakistan looks on India and on U.S.-India relations, and how Pakistan expresses these views in its dealings with the United States. It’s a perspective many will not agree with or welcome, but it affects how Pakistan deals with both India and the United States.

Read an excerpt from our book, as first published in The Hindu on June 13, 2011.