India's View on American Foreign Policy
An Outsider’s Perspective: How India Views United States Foreign Policy
It is no secret that Americans typically do not view the actions of their government in the same manner that citizens in other countries do, especially in relation to foreign policy. It is also not a surprising fact that the presuppositions many Americans hold about foreign policy is incorrect. For instance, the average American believes that the United States spends twenty-seven percent of the federal budget on foreign aid, according to a 2010 World Public Opinion poll – the actual figure being closer to one percent. This discrepancy is precisely the reason why international perspectives on foreign policy are needed if we are to fully understand the far-reaching consequences US policy decisions have on the nations of the world. Specifically, analyzing US foreign policy through the looking glass of a citizen in the country that the particular policy addresses is of utmost importance to consider if we are to sculpt a well-rounded conception of how effectively policy determinations serve American interests and the interests of others.
Arguably the most important countries to consider when developing a comprehensive perspective on American foreign policy are newly industrialized countries (NICs). The United States deals much more with countries that have recently become industrialized due to their status as a rising economic power and, in turn, this aspect makes them prime candidates to analyze American foreign policy from their perspective. India, being the NIC with the highest real GDP growth rate of any current NIC, garners much attention from the United States and is the subject of several foreign policy changes that the US makes. This is precisely why I chose to use The Times of India as my scholarly source to research for this paper. India has much to tell us about the nature of American foreign policy with regards to the economic and political partnerships that the US and India enter
It is no secret that Americans typically do not view the actions of their government in the same manner that citizens in other countries do, especially in relation to foreign policy. It is also not a surprising fact that the presuppositions many Americans hold about foreign policy is incorrect. For instance, the average American believes that the United States spends twenty-seven percent of the federal budget on foreign aid, according to a 2010 World Public Opinion poll – the actual figure being closer to one percent. This discrepancy is precisely the reason why international perspectives on foreign policy are needed if we are to fully understand the far-reaching consequences US policy decisions have on the nations of the world. Specifically, analyzing US foreign policy through the looking glass of a citizen in the country that the particular policy addresses is of utmost importance to consider if we are to sculpt a well-rounded conception of how effectively policy determinations serve American interests and the interests of others.
Arguably the most important countries to consider when developing a comprehensive perspective on American foreign policy are newly industrialized countries (NICs). The United States deals much more with countries that have recently become industrialized due to their status as a rising economic power and, in turn, this aspect makes them prime candidates to analyze American foreign policy from their perspective. India, being the NIC with the highest real GDP growth rate of any current NIC, garners much attention from the United States and is the subject of several foreign policy changes that the US makes. This is precisely why I chose to use The Times of India as my scholarly source to research for this paper. India has much to tell us about the nature of American foreign policy with regards to the economic and political partnerships that the US and India enter
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