ABSTRACT
The United States and India, having overcome many of the inhibitions associated with the Cold War, currently enjoy an unprecedented level of military-to-military cooperation. Indeed, military ties have developed into one of the most important and robust aspects of the US-India bilateral relationship and have often spearheaded the dramatic improvements in relations that the two nations have witnessed since the end of the Cold War. The two sides now must determine how they can sustain productive growth in their defense interactions and cope with the issues that their military relationship may raise. Each country has key interests that can be promoted through sustained enhancement of their growing military relationship, and many of these interests are shared by both capitals. Yet militaryto-military ties can truly prosper only within the context of the larger bilateral relationship. Although interactions between the two armed forces are an integral part of any normal country-to-country relationship and, in the US-India case, have often spurred improvements in other areas, they cannot bear the principal burden of bilateral ties. Instead, they must be merged into the structure of the overall relationship. This is especially true in the case of these two great democracies, both of whom value the subordination of military services to civilian authority and hope to serve as worthy models for other countries. At the same time, US-India military ties must be nurtured, not neglected. Despite the satisfying growth over the past decade, the relationship remains hampered by pertinacious obstacles, vulnerable to shocks, and susceptible to erosion if taken for granted. Without appropriate attention, this promising relationship could devolve into irrelevance or stagnation, frustrating rather than bolstering a burgeoning US-India strategic partnership. In the hopes of contributing to better understanding and thereby avoiding such negative outcomes, this chapter will examine where the relationship has been, where it might go, and what might constrain its continued evolution.
