The Indian subcontinent is President Clinton’s 62nd foreign trip. Sixty-second on the list of United States priorities, the Indians say. Perhaps not high enough for a nuclear power, an up-and-coming hi-tech economy and even the source of the latest chic style in California.
India has become a millennial priority though. The land somewhere between it and Pakistan is usually voted the world’s most likely spot for a nuclear conflict.
India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers and they’re fighting a proxy war in Kashmir, a Muslim majority state the both countries claim. So there’s a convergence of interests between India and the US for the first time since the Cold War.
But a thriving democracy, a growing consumer and information economy, not to mention nuclear weapons and geopolitical influence – earns nations a spot on the international dance card.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of economics at Columbia University, and Davesh Kapur, professor of economics Harvard University.