The Study Of United States Policy Toward South Asia (1947-1951)

Since National liberation movement in South Asia enjoyed a boom after World Warâ…¡, the United Kingdom was forced to put forward Mountbatten Plan with the decline of strength. A new chapter in the South Asian subcontinent was opened with the independence of India and the establishment of Pakistan in August, 1947. From the year of 1947 to the first half year of 1949, the U.S. strategy focused on Europe and Southeast Asia and paid no attention to South Asia. In South Asia, the United States mainly adhered to the"The British Commonwealth"strategy and hoped protect its interests in South Asia through British and United Nations. The United States as far as possible didn't intervene the affairs of South Asia and maintained friendly relations with India and Pakistan and didn't favor any one country. However, the"natural"leadership posture of India in South Asia made the U.S. inevitably be more in favor of India.In the year of 1949, the trend of the Communist Party of China controlling China was increasingly obvious and Soviet atom bomb test was successful; the Korean War broke out in June, 1950. These situations made the strategic significance of South Asia for the United States continue to increase. U.S. foreign policy-making body began to examine U.S. policy toward South Asia and issued NSC48/2, NSC68/3 and NSC98/1 which gradually outlined the panorama of U.S. policy toward South Asia. Meanwhile, the United States stepped up its investment in South Asia and developed friendly relations with India and Pakistan and tried to make them join the Western camp. However, in the process of the implementation of U.S. policy toward South Asia, India's insistence on neutralism made the United States turn their attention to Pakistan.This dissertation will use the Historical Materialism as a guide and the National Interests, Geopolitics and the method of histroy and international politics as the research theory and methods analyzing U.S. declassified documents and archives about U.S. policy toward South Asia from 1947 to 1951 to reveal the evolution of U.S. policy toward South Asia. U.S. policy toward South Asia is the outcome of Cold War expanding and spreading to South Asia and its essence is that the United States attempt to make the South Asia be the"bulwark"of U.S. defensing and enclosing the Soviet Union and Communism throuth strengthening ties with India and Pakistan.This dissertation includes three sections as follows: Section one analyses the background of U.S. policy toward South Asia, including the outbreak of Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union with the increasing of their strength; The strength of the British declined and the Mountbatten plan was gone forth.Section two expounds the process formulation of U.S. policy toward South Asia, including tracing to the source of the relations between United States and South Asia; the two phases of the formation of U.S. policy toward South Asia after World Warâ…¡: the first phase called"the British Commonwealth"strategy; the second phase called South Asia"bulwark"strategy.Section three narrates the implementation of U.S. policy toward South Asia (1947-1951), focusing on the evolution of U.S. policy toward South Asia"from India to Pakistan". It includes: 1947-1948, the United States developed friendly relations with India and Pakistan, but was partial to India; 1949, the United States began to turn to Pakistan; 1950-1951, the United States developed close relations with Pakistan.Section four estimates the U.S. policy toward South Asia(1947-1951) .It includes: U.S. policy toward South Asia served the global Cold War strategy; the characteristics of U.S. policy toward South Asia and the evaluation of U.S. policy toward South Asia.