Opinion Trump’s National Security Strategy is a break from the past. India should welcome it
An America that recognises limits to its power, accepts diversity in international affairs, and becomes less interventionist ought to be welcomed by Delhi
The United States’s National Security Strategy, released last week, is a decisive break from the internationalist traditions that guided American policy after 1945 and shaped the post-Cold War era. 
Many in the Indian strategic community are despondent about the unanticipated downturn in India-US relations since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The Trump Administration’s national security strategy could well add to the pessimism. But realists in Delhi should note the new possibilities arising out of Trump’s plans to radically restructure US engagement with the world.
The United States’s National Security Strategy, released last week, is a decisive break from the internationalist traditions that guided American policy after 1945 and shaped the post-Cold War era. It reflects the ideological impulses of the America First movement and offers a clear statement of how the Trump administration interprets America’s role in the world. Five departures from tradition stand out. One, the 2025 strategy elevates the Western Hemisphere, treating the domination in Latin America and the Caribbean as foundational to US security. Two, it abandons the idea of global hegemony and the presumed obligation that Washington must act everywhere. Its emphasis is on selective intervention tied strictly to vital interests. Three, the US wants its allies to take more responsibility rather than look to Washington as the principal provider of military support. Four, the document replaces liberal universalism with an emphasis on cultural and political distinctiveness, endorsing each state’s right to choose its own institutional arrangements. Finally, the strategy fuses economic revival with national security, making reindustrialisation, resilient supply chains and fair trade major goals.
An America that recognises limits to its power, accepts diversity in international affairs, and becomes less interventionist ought to be welcomed by Delhi. For, it was the anxiety of being sucked into an unequal alliance with Washington and the US temptation to meddle in the internal affairs of other states that persuaded India to keep some distance from America. Two challenges, however, remain. One is the continuing trade dispute with Trump and the other is Trump’s softening tone on China and his new enthusiasm for engagement with Pakistan. Trade disputes with the US are negotiable. On China and Pakistan, India’s answer ought to be threefold. One, acceleration of economic growth is key to reducing India’s strategic gap with China and extending its lead over Pakistan. Two, reforming India’s defence and security sectors is essential for deterring threats from China’s superior military power. Lowering tensions with Pakistan is essential if Delhi wants to prevent meddling by Trump. Finally, the US emphasis on burden-sharing fits nicely with India’s own ambition to play a larger role in the world. India’s regional leadership, combined with broader engagement of other powers like Europe, Russia and Japan, will create better terms for engaging Trump’s America. Turbulence triggered by Trump, then, provides India with an excellent opportunity.
Share
