The National Security Strategy released by the Trump administration last month focuses on U.S. foreign policy, often described by the current dispensation as realistic. Trump’s national security strategy introduces a healthy dose of realism, says former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.
The strategy says it is necessary for the U.S. to prioritise which regions, issues and countries it wishes to be involved in. “It is flexible realism as the U.S. cannot be involved everywhere. And I think it introduces a breath of fresh air into American approach globally, Gokhale told StratNews Global.
Rebalancing, Trump Style
The strategy also factors in some amount of rebalancing. The priority earlier given to U.S. military capability is now subordinated to building economic power and keeping the technological edge, the former diplomat adds. This keeps pace with the fact that China now dominates global manufacturing (30 per cent). The U.S. ranks a distant second (18 per cent). So how should India approach the American policy that will emanate from the national security strategy? India’s partnership with the U.S. is consequential but with caveats, according to Vijay Gokhale. “India should go into it with its eyes wide open.”
Ideological Shift
He points to another key element—the ideological narrative has shifted in America. “It’s no longer the free world versus dictatorships. Or let us promote democracy abroad. It is now the West versus the rest. Let us promote Western civilization abroad.”
And this can affect India in the context of India-Pakistan relations. The national security strategy says the U.S. will be concerned by the affairs of other countries ‘only if their activities directly threaten our interests’. “In other words, Pakistan’s terrorist activities, so long as they do not threaten the continental United States, is not of America’s concern,” says Gokhale.
The document also talks of ‘maintaining good relations with countries whose governing systems and societies differ from ours’. Gokhale’s takeaway: “So we (U.S.) don’t care if there is democracy in Pakistan; we don’t care if General or Field Marshal Munir is now in the ascendant and democracy is sinking, so long as they do not affect our (U.S.) core interests.”
The ideological shift is bad news for India in terms of India-Pakistan relations, reasons Gokhale, “because neither our concerns or terrorism nor our concerns of democracy will resonate in the Washington Beltway.”
Tune in to this conversation where Vijay Gokhale also talks about the U.S. salience on the Indo-Pacific, its China approach and why India does not need to lose heart.
Nitin A. Gokhale is a media entrepreneur, one of South Asia's leading strategic affairs analyst and author of over a dozen books so far on military history, insurgencies and wars.
Starting his career in journalism in 1983, he has since led teams of journalists across media platforms.
A specialist in conflict coverage, Gokhale has covered the insurgencies in India’s North-East, the 1999 Kargil conflict and Sri Lanka’s Eelam War IV between 2006-2009.
Gokhale now travels across the globe to speak at seminars and conferences, and lecture at India’s premier defence colleges. He has founded three niche portals, Bharatshakti.in, stratnewsglobal.com and Interstellar.news.
