From: Arvind Kumar
http://newindianexpress.com/opinion/article1305812.ece
Republicans better for India
By Bharat Karnad 19th October 2012 12:00 AM
It matters to Indian national interest which person and party wins the presidential elections in the United States, not for the usual reasons of the this or that winner being more friendly to this country; but because, generally, Republicans are more hard-headed and strategically-oriented, clearer in their minds of what countries are more important in the larger geopolitical game underway at any given time; and, specifically, because Republican appointees to high posts in the administration tend to be more Manichean in their outlook — cognizant of ideological adversaries who need to be checked, unlike Obama’s officials trying to ‘nuance’ their way out of trouble.
The fact that the George W Bush government saw the emergence of an aggressive China as a rival and assessed democratic India’s importance as a counterpoise in Asia was not dependent on the nuclear deal that many in the Manmohan Singh regime claim was decisive. Even without the deal, a convergence of interests indicated the direction in which the two countries would proceed. The nuclear deal was the sour cherry atop the cake that the improving bilateral relations could well have done without, as subsequent developments have shown. Indeed, the foundations for good Indo-US relations were actually laid by Republican President Ronald Reagan in the Eighties.
1 comment:
The US Democrats are a party of special interest groups, which include extraterritorialist interest groups, such as the Europe-tilting Atlantic lobby. Asian countries will therefore always get a raw deal from the US Democratic Party, which always prefers to lean towards European priorities in its foreign policymaking.
Republicans are more nationalist, and therefore don't lean quite so strongly towards Europe as the Democrats do. Therefore the Republicans will naturally be better for India.
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