April 1, 2005
The United States, with just under 300 million citizens, and India, with more than one billion, are the world's two largest democracies. As such, one would expect a common and powerful on-going bond between the two countries. Instead, since India's independence in 1947, this relationship has been beset by a variety of complex problems. The lecture will explore and analyze these problems and examine the future of the relationship.
Dr. Ashley Tellis is a senior associate with the Global Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He was born in India, obtained his BA and MA at the University of Bombay, and then acquired a second MA and his PhD from the University of Chicago. He has since then held a series of crucial posts, including serving in the US Department of State as the senior advisor to the ambassador at the Embassy of the United States in India and briefly in 2004 on the National Security Council staff as special assistant to the president and senior director, strategic planning and Southwest Asia. Prior to that, he was a senior policy analyst at RAND and professor of policy analysis at the RAND Graduate School. Tellis's research interests focus on international relations theory, military strategy and proliferation issues, South Asian politics, and US-Asian security relations. His academic publications have appeared in several edited volumes and journals including the Journal of Strategic Studies, Asian Survey, Orbis, Comparative Strategy, Naval War