Books

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have both built their politics on the promise of making their countries 'great again'. Placing the US and India as leaders on the world stage is the stated objective of their respective foreign policies, based as they are on the assumption that they inherited a mess from their predecessors. The US Presidents prior to Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, have emphasized that the country's relations with India will shape the twenty-first century. Trump's 'America First' politics is a repudiation of the nation's strategic culture. Of particular significance to India are America's changing relationships with its neighbouring countries--Pakistan and China. What happens directly between India and the US-trade, visas, technology transfer, defence, commerce-is only part of the story. There are many other components that will have a long-lasting impact on India's strategic calculus, its economic interests and the well-being of the average Indian. As Trump sets out to potentially reorient his own country and the world, Open Embrace outlines the impact this will have on India. Trump's alignment with Modi's world view-what Varghese K. George calls the Hindutva Strategic Doctrine-forms a crucial part of this narrative. In addition, the book provides a quick overview of the changes that are occurring in America's relations with the world under the Trump presidency, and what is in it for India.