Tra eredità e cambiamento: le relazioni tra Stati Uniti e Asia meridionale fino alla presidenza Trump

Relations between the United States and South Asia have historically developed within the constraints imposed by the Cold War. These forced, on the one hand, the United States and the Western bloc to favour the consolidation of a common defence between India and Pakistan to prevent the advance of communism. Faced with the obstacle of India’s non-alignment, Washington will opt for an alliance limited to Pakistan. On the part of Islamabad, foreign relations were aimed at redressing the strategic imbalance at regional level. The alliance will prove unsatisfactory for both actors, leading to a progressive divergence between the two members of the alliance, despite Washington’s attention to not compromising the political and military balance in the area. In 2017 the Trump presidency has therefore inherited a delicate legacy and initially attempted to make a clear change, unequivocally shifting the focus of American interests towards Delhi. However, the resurgence of the threat of conflict in 2025 has demonstrated how the delicacy of the strategic balance in the Subcontinent prevents a radical change in US foreign policy.