Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb - Hardcover

Talbott President The Brookings Institution, Strobe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815783000 ISBN 13: 9780815783008

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 2004

Synopsis

On May 11, 1998, three nuclear devices detonated under the Thar Desert in India shook the surrounding villages —and the rest of the world. The immediate effect was to plunge U.S.-India relations, already vexed by decades of tension and estrangement, into a new crisis. The situation deteriorated further when Pakistan responded in kind two weeks later, testing a nuclear weapon for the first time. Engaging India is the firsthand story of the diplomacy conducted between the United States and the two South Asian neighbors after the nuclear tests. In this book, the American point man for the dialogue takes us behind the scenes of one of the most suspenseful and consequential diplomatic dramas of our time, reconstructing what happened —and why —with narrative verve, rich human detail, and penetrating analysis. From June 1998 to September 2000, in what was the most extensive dialogue ever between the United States and India, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh met fourteen times in seven countries on three continents. They discussed both the immediate items on the security and nonproliferation agenda, as well as their wider visions for the U.S.-India relationship and the potential for economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. As the relationship improved over the course of the talks, the United States was to able play a role in averting the possibility of nuclear war over the contested territory of Kashmir in the summer of 1999 —the specifics of which are included for the first time in this book, told in way only a protagonist can. The Talbott-Singh diplomacy laid the groundwork for the transformational visit of President Bill Clinton to India in March 2000 and helped end fifty years of estrangement between the world's two largest democracies. As pursuit of Islamic militants continues across South Asia, the increased cooperation established by Talbott and Singh will be an invaluable asset for current and future leaders of both countries. This book provides, for the first time, an insider's perspective on the ground-breaking efforts to build a cordial relationship between the United States and India. The general reader will find it accessible, and more important, an indispensable tool for understanding America's current role in South Asia, and the prospects for improved relations.

About this title

About the Author:

Strobe Talbott is president of the Brookings Institution. He served as deputy secretary of state from 1994 to 2001. For twenty-one years prior to his service in government, he was correspondent and columnist for Time magazine. He has written nine books, including The Russia Hand: A Memoir of Presidential Diplomacy (Random House, 2002), a personal account of U.S. diplomacy toward Russia during the Clinton administration.
One-Page Biography

Review:

"Talbot gives diplomacy —and the manner in which it should be reported —a wholly new dimension." —M. V. Kamath, (ALSO PRINTED IN FREE PRESS JOURNAL, MUMBAI AND THE ORGANISER), The Sentinel (Guwahati), 10/30/2004

"[A] fascinating study of how diplomatic dialogue can slowly broaden to include subtle considerations of the domestic politics and foreign policies of the countries involved. Talbott considers the complications presented by China and Pakistan and reveals that Washington played an important role in averting a war over Kashmir that could have gone nuclear." —Lucian W. Pye, Foreign Affairs

"A true story with a positive message, ENGAGING INDIA is a raptly engrossing work and a welcome addition to modern world history shelves." —John Burroughs, Midwest Book Review

"... a fascinating first-hand story of the diplomacy conducted between the United States and India after the nuclear tests." — The Statesman, 9/19/2004

"... what comes through in this engrossing work is the author's intellectual honesty and his unerring understaning of the Indian psyche." —M.V. Kamath, Organiser, 10/17/2004

"[A] serious, sometimes funny, often exasperating tale told very well.... Highly recommended. " —John F. Riddick, Central Michigan University Library, Mt. Pleasant, Library Journal, 10/15/2004

"ENGAGING INDIA is a rapidly engrossing work and a welcome addition to modern world history shelves." —John Buroughs, Reviewer's Bookwatch, 10/1/2004

"Besides simply explaining the arcana on strategy and nuclear policy, this slim two hundred-odd page book is also an enjoyable read. -- If it is true that we need more understanding and communication in this world, then this memoir is a valuable contribution to that cause." —Sudheer Apte, DesiJournal, 8/20/2004

"His clearly written account is an important addition to the literature of modern diplomatic history." —R. Marlay, Arkansas State University, Choice, 3/1/2005

"ENGAGING INDIA is a highly engaging book; lucid, informative and at times, amusing." —Gareth Price, Asia Programme, Chatham House, International Affairs, 3/15/2005

About this edition

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0815783000
• ISBN 13: 9780815783008
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 268