One of the core foreign policy messages telegraphed by president-elect Joe Biden over the course of his campaign is that he will fight hard to strengthen democracy and human rights at a moment when both are under constant assault. This means the incoming Biden administration can be expected to put India바카라s policies in Kashmir under the microscope.
Due to strategic considerations, however, a Biden White House will likely be restrained in its criticism바카라a move that would benefit a crucial US-India partnership, but also risk undercutting the credibility of a key pillar of Biden바카라s foreign policy.
All indications point to Biden flagging a Kashmir issue that New Delhi doesn바카라t want outside actors, including close partners, touching with a 10-foot pole. In remarks at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington this past summer, Antony Blinken, a top Biden campaign foreign policy adviser who may receive a senior post in his boss바카라s administration, said there are 바카라real concerns바카라 about some Indian government actions, 바카라particularly in cracking down on freedom of movement and freedom of speech in Kashmir바카라. You are always better in engaging with a partner바카라when you can speak frankly and directly in areas where you have differences.바카라
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Additionally, a campaign document released in June entitled 바카라Joe Biden바카라s Agenda for Muslim-American Communities바카라 declared that 바카라the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights바카라 for Kashmiris, and that 바카라restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weaken democracy바카라.
The focus on Kashmir in Biden바카라s White House, however, should not be overstated. Expect it to be limited in scope and mostly handled privately, with any public criticism taking on subtle rather than sharp tones바카라along the lines of Barack Obama바카라s gentle call-out of India바카라s religious freedom record during a speech in New Delhi in 2015.
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Keep in mind that the Biden campaign바카라s negative comments about Kashmir바카라and those of Democrats more broadly over the last year-plus바카라have largely focused on the draconian conditions imposed in the region after India바카라s revocation of Article 370. With few exceptions, they haven바카라t criticised the Article 370 move itself, or Kashmir바카라s broader territorial status. This is what we should also expect from the incoming Biden administration: limited, narrowly focused criticism around the rights situation in Kashmir, and not much else beyond that.
The reason is simple: There is a strong bipartisan consensus in Washington that the US-India partnership is a strategic imperative. Biden won바카라t want to rock the boat with India by invoking the Kashmir issue too frequently or intensely. Biden바카라a longtime friend of India and strong supporter of US-India ties바카라is not about to defy decades of history and a strong bipartisan consensus, and risk squandering what US policymakers believe to be America바카라s most important partnership in South Asia.
Not surprisingly, the vice president-elect appears more inclined to emphasise the strengths of Indian democracy than its shortcomings. Consider Biden바카라s own words: 바카라We need to fortify our collective capabilities with democratic friends beyond North America and Europe by바카라deepening partnerships from India to Indonesia to advance shared values in a region [Asia] that will determine the United States바카라 future.바카라
However, by not pushing India harder on human rights, Biden risks sustaining a blow to his foreign policy agenda.
For someone like Donald Trump, who doesn바카라t use foreign policy as a vehicle for moral crusades, giving India a pass on its human rights record in Kashmir was perfectly predictable and consistent with his foreign policy. And it바카라s not just Trump. Cold, hard interests, not morals, drive international relations. Outrage is selective. America takes a stronger stand on behalf of Uighurs, a community oppressed by a US foe, than it does on behalf of Kashmiris and Palestinians, who suffer at the hands of America바카라s friends.
But if you바카라re a president who makes advocacy for democracy and human rights a central focus of your foreign policy, and yet you keep in relative check your comments about the plight of Kashmiris, then the inconsistencies inherent in that foreign policy come into sharp relief.
And that바카라s not a good look for a president determined to win back credibility and trust from an international community that soured on America during the Trump years.
Kugelman is senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. Views are personal.
