Article

The United States And India: A Digital Partnership in Need of a Strategy

By : Arjun Kang Joseph, Rudra Chaudhuri

Page No: 169-182

Abstract 

India-US relations have transformed in the last two decades. The defence and strategic partnership remains the silver-lining in an equation increasingly shaped by the rise and bellicosity of China. Yet, there is another aspect of this relationship that has been largely neglected: the need to bridge growing divergences in each countries’ approach to the digital economy. This paper outlines these divergences and suggests ways forward. It makes the case that the differences, at the tactical level, requires an investment at the strategic level to make the best of the future of digital ties. In particular, the paper lays down the reasoning to invest in what might be called the Next Steps in Technological Partnerships, just like India and the United States invested in the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership more than a decade ago. The latter had a telling impact on the growth of India-US defence ties. There is no reason why the former cannot have the same effect as far as digital ties are concerned.

Author :

Arjun Kang Joseph is a research analyst with the Technology and Society Program at the Carnegie India. His research focuses on data, privacy and the intersection of health and technology. Rudra Chaudhuri is the director of Carnegie India. His primary research interests include the diplomatic history of South Asia and contemporary security issues.