ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the turnaround in US nuclear foreign policy towards India between 2001 and 2009 under the George W. Bush administration which led to the signing and implementation of the US-India civil nuclear deal. The chapter evaluates narrative contestations that have worked towards a reconstitution of American identity and nuclear policies towards India, leading to the de-facto approval of India’s weaponisation via the civil nuclear deal. The relations of identity/difference enacted through great power narratives are explored in the narrative sites of: civilisations’ inclination for peace; India-Pakistan ‘de-hyphenation’; bringing ‘democratic’ India into the NPT fold; encouraging ‘reforms’ in India; and ‘assisting’ India in renewable technologies.
