The Jimmy Carter Administration’s Foreign Policy Towards India,1977-1981

India was the largest country in South Asia,and U.S.policy towards India was an important part of its South Asian strategy.1974 saw a downturn in U.S.-India relations when the U.S.initiated sanctions against India following the country’s nuclear tests,and in 1977,when the Carter administration took office,coinciding with Indian elections,the U.S.took the initiative to engage with the new Indian government in Desai to improve bilateral relations.This led directly to Carter’s historic visit to India in January1978.However,on 10 March 1978,Carter signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act.The U.S.terminated its nuclear assistance to India because of India’s refusal of International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of its nuclear facilities.In December1979,when the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan broke out,the Carter administration gave full assistance to Pakistan and U.S.-India relations became estranged.After the Indira Gandhi government came to power in India in 1980,Indo-Soviet relations became closer.The Carter administration’s India policy was a product of the combination of the international Cold War process,the South Asian regional context,and domestic factors in the U.S.First,the Carter administration’s India policy was a product of the Cold War competition between the U.S.and the Soviet Union.With the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan,the international Cold War process changed from a relative de-escalation to a new climax,and the U.S.South Asia strategy shifted from a "relative balance" between India and Pakistan to a priority for U.S.-Pakistan relations,resulting in a decline in the strategic status of U.S.-India relations.Secondly,the U.S.policy towards India has been constrained by the regional situation in South Asia,with East Pakistan becoming independent after the Third Indo-Pakistani War in 1971 and India becoming dominant in South Asia.The U.S.-Pakistan alliance limited the space for adjustment of U.S.policy towards India.Finally,between 1977 and 1981,the U.S.Carter administration’s policy toward India showed a shift from idealism to realism.Carter’s idealistic diplomacy played an important influence in the first half of its period.During the first half of the Carter administration,the Cold War between the U.S.and the Soviet Union was relatively peaceful,and Carter’s idealistic human rights diplomacy and antinuclear proliferation ideas were prominent at this time;however,with the "Iran hostage incident" in November 1979 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December,the Cold War entered a new high stage,and U.S.diplomacy in the latter half of the Carter administration shifted to Realism dominated.In the Carter administration’s policy towards India,whether it was idealism under the banner of non-proliferation and human rights diplomacy,or realism with a focus on strength,it was an adjustment made in response to the changing international situation and in order to safeguard U.S.national interests.These policies all served the needs of the U.S.Cold War strategy against the Soviet Union.The Carter administration’s nonproliferation policy delayed India’s nuclear weapons programme and to some extent moderated the nuclear arms race in South Asia and internationally.