Partnership without Alliance? The Contained Volatility of Indo-US Relations, and a Prognosis

India and the United States – the world’s ‘two largest democracies’ – share many structural similarities like multi-party democracy, federalism, constitutionally-guaranteed basic rights and the pre-eminent role of the Supreme Court as an intermediary between man and state and protector of basic rights. Both, having originated from a freedom struggle against colonial rule, share a common, anti-colonial legacy. Still, post-Second World War Indo-US relations remained asymmetric and ambiguous through the long years of the Cold War. Has this pattern changed during the current stewardship of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi? The paper responds to this question through an analysis of the security dimension, arms procurement, the Iran conundrum and the China factor as critical issues that affect Indo-US relations.In a wide-ranging perspective on India’s improving relationship with the United States, which is of strategic importance to the global order at this time, the paper explores the convergences and divergences in this bilateral engagement.