Podcast appearances and mentions of Ashley J Tellis

In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac B. Kardon sits down with Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution. They explore how the role of overseas bases has changed over time and how the U.S., China, and Russia—among other countries—use them to project power today. Despite advances in technology and long-range weapons, bases remain key to grand strategy, political influence, and sustained military reach.

There are two narratives doing the rounds about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Washington to break bread with U.S. President Donald Trump.The first narrative, touted by the government and its backers, is that Modi skillfully threaded the needle with Trump, standing up for Indian interests but also giving the president some important early wins that can position India well for the future. The second narrative suggests a more pessimistic vision: that U.S.-India relations are at a precarious juncture, where a volatile and transactional president just might upend bilateral ties at a time when India can scarcely afford it.To discuss where U.S.-India ties sit in the aftermath of the Modi visit, Milan is joined on the show today by Rajesh Rajagopalan. Rajesh is professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He is an expert on nuclear policy, Indian foreign policy, and U.S.-India relations. He's also the author of a new article in ThePrint titled, “India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos.”On this week's show, Milan and Rajesh discuss Joe Biden's foreign policy legacy, India's longstanding demands for technology transfers, and the plateauing in bilateral ties. Plus, the two discuss Delhi's view on Elon Musk and the future of U.S.-China relations.Episode notes:1. “Trump and Modi, Part Deux (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, February 19, 2025.2. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos,” ThePrint, February 17, 2025.3. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “Trump's blanket desire to avoid all wars can lead to the same wars he wants to avoid,” ThePrint, November 11, 2024.4. “Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations,” Grand Tamasha, October 2, 2024.5. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India keeps making the same foreign policy mistakes. World doesn't think we're being moral,” ThePrint, September 11, 2024.6. “Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, September 11, 2024.7. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India-US ties under Modi echo Nehru's reluctance to commit. Hope consequences aren't the same,” ThePrint, July 17, 2024.

On this week's show, we're doing something a little different.This week, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid a visit to our Carnegie Endowment office in Washington to take part in a fireside chat with Carnegie's President Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar.Dr. Jaishankar's visit to Washington comes on the heels of last week's Quad Summit and a spate of high-level meetings coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly in New York.This week, in place of our usual programming, we're bringing you Dr. Jaishankar's hour-long engagement at Carnegie. In the conversation, and the Q&A that followed, the Minister discussed the state of U.S.-India ties, the prospect of an “Asian NATO,” the war in Ukraine, and the future of Taiwan. Plus, he fielded questions on India's neighborhood policy and the government's relationship with the Indian diaspora.We found this conversation insightful and illuminating, and we think you will too. Milan will be back in the host's chair for next week's show.Episode notes:1. “Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, September 11, 2024.2. “EAM Jaishankar on India's Pluralism, Jammu and Kashmir, and Globalization,” Grand Tamasha, October 1, 2019.

After a short summer break, Grand Tamasha is back with its twelfth season!As we head into the U.S. presidential elections and bid farewell to the Biden administration, it seems like an opportune time to discuss the last four years of U.S.-India ties under President Biden and to take stock of where we are at this particular moment in history.To do so, Milan is joined by one of the show's most popular guests, Ashley J. Tellis. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he specializes in international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy. He has a special focus on Asia and the Indian subcontinent and is widely considered one of the world's most respected voices on Indian foreign policy and U.S.-India relations.Ashley and Milan talk about the Trump inheritance, the Biden administration's handling of the explosive “murder-for-hire” plot,” and the unfinished business of the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal.Plus, the two discuss India's relations with Russia and China and how the U.S. has managed tensions and opportunities in each.  Finally, the duo debate how the outcome of the U.S. election might shape the trajectory of bilateral ties.Episode notes:1. Ashley J. Tellis, “Inevitable Fractures: The Ukraine War and the Global System,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 13, 2024.2. Ashley J. Tellis, “Completing the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement: Fulfilling the Promises of a Summer Long Past,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, November 27, 2023.3. “Reexamining America's Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.4. Ashley J. Tellis, “America's Bad Bet on India,” Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2023.5. Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin, 2022).

On March 11, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization conducted the maiden test of its Agni-V MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle) missile. MIRV capability is a complex technology and there are only a handful of countries that have developed it.The test represents a breakthrough for India's missile program but it's also prompted warnings of a new arms race in the Indo-Pacific, a region already marked by sharpening geopolitical rivalries. To discuss India's missile program, its defense posture, and its emerging space policy, Milan is joined on the show this week by Ankit Panda. Ankit is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He's an expert on the Asia-Pacific region and his work encompasses nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, and emerging technologies.Ankit and Milan discuss the significance of India's MIRV test and the new “missile age” in the Indo-Pacific. Plus, the two discuss the China-India-Pakistan triangle, the importance of India's 2019 anti-satellite test, and the future of India's space policy.Episode notes:1. Ankit Panda, Indo-Pacific Missile Arsenals: Avoiding Spirals and Mitigating Escalation Risks (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023).2. “Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.3. Ankit Panda, “The Indo-Pacific's new missile age demands Washington's attention,” Breaking Defense, November 16, 2023.4. Ankit Panda, “How India's breakthrough as an ‘elite space power' devalues discovery and innovation,” South China Morning Post, April 7, 2019.5. Alex Travelli, “The Surprising Striver in the World's Space Business,” New York Times, July 4, 2023.6. Toby Dalton et al., “Dimming Prospects for U.S.-Russia Nonproliferation Cooperation,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 14, 2024.

March 28, 2024

India has enormous momentum. Its population has surpassed China's, making it the most populous country in the world. Its economy is expected to become the world's third largest in the next few years. And, as much as any country, it seems positioned to take today's geopolitical tensions and turn them to its advantage. The country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, is expected to win a third term in office this spring, cementing his own political dominance. But that has come with a dark side—an assault on civil rights and democracy, which some warn will ultimately hinder India. To address Modi's third term and India's future more broadly, Foreign Affairs editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan moderated a panel including Alyssa Ayres, Ashley J. Tellis, and  Pratap Bhanu Mehta. Ayres is Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Tellis is the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. And Mehta is Laurence S. Rockefeller Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

“Reexamining America's Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.[VIDEO] Ely Ratner and Lindsey Ford, “Building a More Resilient Indo-Pacific Security Architecture, Hudson Institute,” March 2, 2023.The White House, “Joint Statement from the United States and India,” June 22, 2023.Rudra Chaudhuri, Konark Bhandari, and Ashima Singh, “The U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET): The Way Forward,” Carnegie India, January 24, 2023.

Last week on the show, Milan sat down with the Carnegie Endowment's Ashley J. Tellis to discuss his much talked about Foreign Affairs essay titled, “America's Bad Bet on India.”In that piece, Ashley argues that if U.S. policymakers are expecting India to come to America's aid in the event of a military conflict with China, they would be well advised to keep their expectations in check. Ashley argues that such a military coalition is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.A month after Ashley's piece was published, the scholar Arzan Tarapore penned a response in Foreign Affairs titled, “America's Best Bet in the Indo-Pacific.”Arzan, a Research Scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, joins Milan on the show this week to discuss why coalition warfare is the wrong benchmark with which to assess U.S.-India security cooperation.Milan and Arzan discuss the policy differences between Delhi and Washington, the practical ways in which the United States and India can cooperate to constrain China, and the prospects of iCET (the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology). Plus, the two discuss the future of the Quad and how Australia fits into the budding U.S.-India partnership. Episode notes:“Reexamining America's Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.Arzan Tarapore, “What the Quad could learn from AUKUS,” The Interpreter (blog), April 3, 2023.Christopher Chivvis, “What Biden Wants From Modi's State Visit,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 20, 2023.“Pivotal States: What Direction for the U.S.-India Partnership (with Christopher Chivvis, Lisa Curtis, and Ashley J. Tellis),” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 9, 2023Arzan Tarapore, “India and the US gear up for strategic competition,” The Strategist, June 26, 2023.

In a few days, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Washington, D.C. to begin a historic state visit that is expected to further cement ties between the United States and India. Over the past two decades, this relationship has gone from awkward resentment during the Cold War to full-throated embrace after the year 2000.But a new essay by Ashley J. Tellis in Foreign Affairs titled, “America's Bad Bet on India,” warns that there are limits to U.S.-India cooperation and Washington would be wise to wake up to them. Ashley, who holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss his essay and his motivations for writing it.Ashley and Milan discuss the bipartisan bet U.S. officials have made on India since the year 2000, the logic of “strategic altruism,” and the challenges facing the bilateral defense partnership. Plus, the two preview Modi's state visit and discuss both its symbolic importance as well as it's substantive significance.  Episode notes:1.      Ashley J. Tellis, “America's Bad Bet on India,” Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2023.2.      “U.S.-India Relations, With Ashley J. Tellis,” The President's Inbox (podcast), May 16, 2023.3.      Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, eds., Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin Viking, 2022)4.      Arzan Tarapore, “America's Best Bet in the Indo-Pacific,” Foreign Affairs, May 29, 2023.

Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the challenges inherent in the evolving relationship between the United States and India.   Mentioned on the Podcast   Ashley J. Tellis, “America's Bad Bet on India,” Foreign Affairs   Ashley J. Tellis, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/us-india-relations-ashley-j-tellis

India's nuclear program is often conceived as an inward-looking endeavor of secretive technocrats. But a new book by the scholar Jayita Sarkar, Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War, challenges the conventional wisdom, narrating a global story of India's nuclear program during its first forty years. It is a story about nuclear ambiguity, Cold War geopolitics, territorial ambition, and visionary engineers and scientists. Jayita, who is a senior lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow and the founding director of the Global Decolonization Initiative, joins Milan on the show this week to talk more about her book. The two discuss the elite coterie of scientists and engineers responsible for India's nuclear program, the myth of India's peaceful, non-violent rise, and the many global inputs to India's nuclear ambitions. Plus, the two discuss the surprising roots of India's controversial 1974 nuclear tests and the country's struggles to fulfill its nuclear energy potential at home. “Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.[Open-access] Jayita Sarkar, Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2022).

Thirty years ago, Seema Sirohi first moved to Washington as a journalist charged with covering India's relationship with the United States. At the time, Washington saw India as a problem—rather than a useful part of its foreign policy solution—to big, complex global challenges. Today, the situation could not be more different: the United States and India are deeply enmeshed in a strategic partnership that runs the gamut, from space to terrorism, and from climate change to technology. Seema, a U.S.-based columnist for the Economic Times, narrates this tectonic shift in a new book, Friends with Benefits: The India-U.S. Story.On this week's show, she joins Milan to discuss the book and her own personal journey. They discuss the evolution of U.S.-India ties over the past three decades, including the rocky years of the early 1990s, the breakthrough in the George W. Bush administration, and the setbacks towards the end of India's UPA-2 government. Plus, the two discuss the Washington establishment's blind spots on both China and Pakistan and how these have repeatedly come at the cost of greater cooperation with India in years past. Narayan Lakshmanan, “Review of Seema Sirohi's Friends with Benefits: The India-U.S. Story—Ringside view to bilateral ballet,” Hindu, February 17, 2023.“Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.“U.S.-India Ties After the ‘2+2' Summit,” with Joshua White, Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2022.

In 2016, Ashley J. Tellis published an important paper in which he unpacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for India to become a leading, rather than a balancing, power on the global stage. This call reflected an important change in how the country's top political leadership conceived of its role in international politics.In the years following, Ashley and a group of collaborators have been working to flesh out what becoming a leading power would actually mean in practice. Their findings have finally been published in a new volume, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power, edited by Ashley along with Bibek Debroy and C. Raja Mohan.Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. On the show this week, Ashley joins Milan to talk about his latest project. He and Milan discuss India's internal debate about its growing global role, the ideological constraints to realizing India's economic potential, and lingering doubts about India's liberal commitments. Plus, the two discuss whether India's incremental pace of reforms is a harm or a hindrance to its wider ambitions. Ashley J. Tellis, “Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power,” in Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2022).Ashley J. Tellis, “India as a Leading Power,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 4, 2016.Lakshmi Puri, “The will to power: How India can become a leading power in the world,” FirstPost, January 27, 2023.“Southern Asia's Nuclear Future With Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.

Despite some progress on the border dispute, China and India remain at odds. Beijing's assertiveness in the Himalayas has pushed New Delhi closer toward the United States and Europe, and there are few signs that the two Asian powers can mend their strained relationship.Though New Delhi's ties with Washington are warming, the latter has been frustrated by the former's refusal to join Western sanctions on Russia. And while India has further embraced the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and strengthened ties with other Asian countries, it has been reticent to fully align with Washington in several areas. Their differences notwithstanding, can China and India find common ground? Where are the limits in U.S.-India ties?Paul spoke with Vijay Gokhale, nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India and the former foreign secretary of India, Han Hua, associate professor at Peking University and director of the Center for Arms Control and Disarmament in the university's School of International Studies, and Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This panel is the second of the Carnegie Global Dialogue Series 2022-2023 and is available to be viewed on the Carnegie Endowment's website. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/12/14/where-do-china-india-relations-stand-event-8003 If you enjoy listening to the China in the World podcast, consider checking out the Carnegie Endowment's suite of podcasts:https://carnegieendowment.org/the-world-unpackedhttps://carnegieendowment.org/events/carnegieconnectshttps://carnegieindia.org/interpretingindiahttps://carnegieendowment.org/grandtamashahttps://carnegieeurope.eu/europeinsideout

China, India and Pakistan are modernising their nuclear arsenals and tweaking their nuclear postures. What will be the result of the modernisation cycles, and how will it affect the deterrence relationship between the three nuclear powers? In this episode, Pranav Satyanath welcomes Dr Ashley J Tellis, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to discuss the continuity and change in the nuclear trajectories of Southern Asia.The digital copy of the book Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia can be found here: Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia - Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceYou can follow Pranav Satyanath on twitter: https://twitter.com/duke_notnukemCheck out Takshashila's courses: https://school.takshashila.org.in/You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.You can check out our website at https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/featuredDo follow IVM Podcasts on social media.We are @IVMPodcasts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.https://twitter.com/IVMPodcastshttps://www.instagram.com/ivmpodcasts/?hl=enhttps://www.facebook.com/ivmpodcasts/Follow the show across platforms:Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Gaana, Amazon Music Do share the word with your folks!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The competitive and often antagonistic relationships between China, India, and Pakistan have roots that predate their possession of nuclear weaponry. Yet the significant transformation of the nuclear capabilities that is now underway in all three countries simultaneously complicates and mitigates their geopolitical rivalries.This is one of the central arguments advanced by a new report authored by Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The report, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia, is an authoritative account of the transitions in the nuclear weapons programs in China, India, and Pakistan over the last two decades.Ashley joins Milan on the show this week to discuss his new report and its implications. Milan and Ashley discuss China's post-Cold War shift to its conservative nuclear posture, the developmental underpinnings of India's nuclear program, and Pakistan's diverse, burgeoning nuclear weapons arsenal. Plus, the two discuss U.S. policy options to manage China's nuclear modernization and the logic of an India-France-United States nuclear partnership.  “How China Sees India With Ambassador Shyam Saran,” Grand Tamasha, September 7, 2022.“When and Why Do India and Pakistan Fight (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, September 14, 2022.Ashley J. Tellis, India's Emerging Nuclear Posture: Between Recessed Deterrent and Ready Arsenal (RAND Corporation, 2001).Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills, eds. Strategic Asia 2019: China's Expanding Strategic Ambitions(Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2019).

As India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on Monday, In episode 1056 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta talks about how the change in nuclear capabilities of India, Pakistan & China can impact geopolitical equations in future, highlights some key points from Ashley J. Tellis' new book - 'Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia'  and how India can ensure its safety in the modern-strategic world. Brought to you by @kiaind

China, India, and Pakistan have all possessed nuclear weapons for decades and kept each other in check through mutual deterrence. New technology, different leaders, and a shifting geopolitical landscape have also led to the constant development and transformation of each country's nuclear capabilities. China in particular has ramped up its own nuclear arsenal as it seeks to take on the United States, while still keeping a wary eye on neighboring India.Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at Carnegie, has mapped the evolution of the nuclear strategies and arsenals for all three of these powers in his groundbreaking report, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia.Ashley joins Doug on the show to unpack the transformation of the three major nuclear powers in Asia and how the United States can respond to a Chinese state acquiring more powerful nuclear weapons.Follow Doug on Twitter @DouglasLFarrarRead Ashley's report.

Two weeks ago, the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and India met in Washington for the fourth annual U.S.-India “2+2” Dialogue. The annual meeting has become an important focal point in the growing partnership between the United States and India, and this year's edition received even more scrutiny than usual. For one, it featured a high-level virtual meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden. But it also took place against the backdrop of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and tensions in the bilateral relationship over how that conflict should be handled.To discuss the key takeaways from the 2+2, Milan is joined on the show this week by Joshua White. Josh is associate professor of the practice of South Asia studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington and a nonresident fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Josh also has extensive experience working in the U.S. government, having done stints at both the National Security Council and the Pentagon. Milan and Josh discuss the trajectory of U.S.-India ties under the Biden administration, the big takeaways from the 2+2, and how the two sides are dealing with the thorny issue of Russia-Ukraine. Plus, Josh gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at putting together a high-level ministerial summit. Joshua T. White, After the foundational agreements: An agenda for US-India defense and security cooperation(Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2021)Joshua T. White, “Nonstate threats in the Taliban's Afghanistan,” February 1, 2022, Brookings Institution, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/02/01/nonstate-threats-in-the-talibans-afghanistan/Ashley J. Tellis, “‘What Is in Our Interest': India and the Ukraine War,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 25, 2022.

In part two of our conversation with Ashley J. Tellis, we discussed opportunities for the United States and India to expand their relationship through greater cooperation on trade, technology, and security. We also discussed India's views on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the outlook for a visit to India by U.S. President Joe Biden, Pakistan's changing role in Indian security considerations, and more. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. You can watch the full video of our conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSvkY8tzvEq21kNOjYILXQ

In part two of our conversation with Ashley J. Tellis, we discussed opportunities for the United States and India to expand their relationship through greater cooperation on trade, technology, and security. We also discussed India's views on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the outlook for a visit to India by U.S. President Joe Biden, Pakistan's changing role in Indian security considerations, and more. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. You can watch the full video of our conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSvkY8tzvEq21kNOjYILXQ

Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. In part one of our conversation with Ashley, we discussed India's strategic calculus around its relations with Russia amid the Russia-Ukraine war. We also discussed the role of India's tensions with China, and how the White House views India's Russia ties. You can watch the full video of our conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSvkY8tzvEq21kNOjYILXQ

Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. In part one of our conversation with Ashley, we discussed India's strategic calculus around its relations with Russia amid the Russia-Ukraine war. We also discussed the role of India's tensions with China, and how the White House views India's Russia ties. You can watch the full video of our conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSvkY8tzvEq21kNOjYILXQ

In this episode of NBR's Asia Insight, NBR vice president of research Alison Szalwinski discusses the new book Strategic Asia 2021–22: Navigating Tumultuous Times with co-editor Ashley J. Tellis and contributor Michael J. Green. Ashley J. Tellis is a counselor at NBR. He holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has served as research director of the Strategic Asia Program at NBR and co-editor of the program's annual volume since 2004. Michael J. Green director of Asian studies and chair in modern and contemporary Japanese politics and foreign policy at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and senior vice president for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

How has India tried to secure its position as a great power? In this episode of Global Demons, Robert D. Kaplan and Ashley J. Tellis discuss India's status as an Asian great power, its future under Narendra Modi, and how it deals with the U.S.-China Rivalry.

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his maiden visit to Washington under the new Biden administration. It was all sunlight and good vibes and—for a week—American and Indian policymakers ignored the fact that a darkening cloud is gathering over U.S.-India relations in the form of potential U.S. sanctions. Milan's guest on the show this week, political scientist Sameer Lalwani, thinks that this threat of sanctions is very much real. Sameer is a senior fellow in Asia strategy at the Stimson Center in Washington and an expert on issues ranging from nuclear deterrence to national security decision and counterinsurgency. Sameer and Milan discuss how India might run afoul of the U.S. Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), what the Biden administration might do to avoid a crisis in bilateral relations, and how India might help its own case. Plus, the two discuss how the fallout in Afghanistan will affect India-Pakistan relations and the prospect of future violence between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.Sameer Lalwani, “What India can do to avoid US sanctions over Russia,” Hindustan Times, September 22, 2021.Sameer Lalwani, “Strategizing to Exit Afghanistan: From Risk Avoidance to Risk Management,” War on the Rocks, March 29, 2021. Sameer Lalwani and Tyler Sagerstrom, “What the India–Russia Defence Partnership Means for US Policy,” Survival (2021).Sameer Lalwani, Frank O'Donnell, Tyler Sagerstrom, and Akriti Vasudeva, “The Influence of Arms: Explaining the Durability of India–Russia Alignment,” Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, January 15, 2021.Sameer Lalwani, “America Can't Ignore the Next Indo-Pakistani Crisis,” War on the Rocks, February 26, 2021. Ashley J. Tellis, “The Biden-Modi Summit and the Future of U.S.-India Relations,” Grand Tamasha, September 21, 2021.

This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington for his first in-person meeting in the American capital with U.S. President Joe Biden. Modi, Biden, and the leaders of Australia and Japan will also be gathering for an in-person edition of the Quad Leader's summit. To understand what's on the agenda and what it means for the United States and for India, Milan is joined this week by Ashley J. Tellis. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at Carnegie.Milan and Ashley discuss the agenda for the coming Biden-Modi summit, turbulence in U.S.-India relations, and whether the Quad is paying dividends. Plus, the two speak about the impact of regime change in Afghanistan on India, on U.S.-Pakistan ties, and the future of U.S.-India cooperation in the region. Evan S. Medeiros and Ashley J. Tellis, “Regime Change Is Not an Option in China,” Foreign Affairs, July 8, 2021.Ashley J. Tellis, “Well Begun Is Half Done? Managing U.S.-India Relations,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 27, 2021.Ashley J. Tellis interview with Karan Thapar, “Taliban Win Big Setback for India but India's Importance for US Has Sharply Increased,”The Wire, September 7, 2021.

One year ago, Chinese and Indian forces traded blows in the remote Galwan Valley—resulting in the first deaths along the Line of Actual Control since 1975. Months later, India would be hit by the coronavirus, whose precise origin story in China we still do not fully understand. Indian public opinion towards China has soured and Beijing has nervously watched India double-down on its engagement with the so-called “Quad.”It's against this backdrop that the scholar Kanti Bajpai has released a timely new book, India Versus China: Why They Are Not Friends. Kanti is the Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation and Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and he joins Milan on the podcast this week.The two discuss the untold pre-history of the Chinese-Indian rivalry, the sources of the trust deficit between the two countries, and China's surprising soft power advantage. Plus, the two discuss possible scenarios for China-India conflict and India's pressing domestic reforms agenda. Grand Tamasha, “Darshana Baruah on the Indian Ocean Imperative,” April 6, 2021Grand Tamasha, “Ananth Krishnan on What China's Rise Means for India,” October 20, 2020Grand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India's China Conundrum,” September 22, 2020“Off the Cuff with Kanti Bajpai,” ThePrintKanti Bajpai, “Why does China consistently beat India on soft power?” Indian Express, June 23, 2021

Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. On this episode, Rexon and Shery spoke with Ashley about India's struggle to control the deadly second wave of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and prospects in Indian domestic politics, and India's “self-reliance” economic policy, protectionism, and actions against large tech companies. On the security front, they discussed opportunities and challenges in U.S.-India relations, the Quad partnership, and India's relations with China and Russia.

Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. On the NSC he was a top negotiator of the pivotal 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement – a landmark agreement that helped transform the U.S.-India relationship. On this episode, Rexon and Shery spoke with Ashley about India's struggle to control the deadly second wave of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and prospects in Indian domestic politics, and India's “self-reliance” economic policy, protectionism, and actions against large tech companies. On the security front, they discussed opportunities and challenges in U.S.-India relations, the Quad partnership, and India's relations with China and Russia.

The contested borders between India, China, and Pakistan render the Himalayas one of the world’s most dangerous geopolitical flashpoints in the year 2021. A new book by the journalist Myra MacDonald, White as the Shroud: India, Pakistan and War on the Frontiers of Kashmir, takes readers inside the long-simmering conflict over the Siachen glacier—one of the most obscure and forbidding battlegrounds in the world.  Myra joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk about her new book and its larger implications for regional and global politics. The two discuss Myra’s lifelong passion for India/South Asia, the origins of India and Pakistan’s decades-long battle for Siachen, and the toll war at 20,000 feet takes on soldiers from both sides. Plus, Myra reflects on how the Modi government’s August 2019 abrogation of Article 370in Jammu and Kashmir has impacted relations with both China and Pakistan.  Episode notes: Myra MacDonald, Heights of Madness: One Women`s Journey in Pursuit of a Secret WarMyra MacDonald, Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian WarGrand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum” 

As a new administration takes office in Washington, followers of the U.S.-India relationship are eagerly anticipating what shape ties between these two nations will take under a new president. A new book by the journalist Meenakshi Ahamed, A Matter of Trust: India–US Relations from Truman to Trump, offers a sweeping portrait of this relationship over seven decades.  This week on the show, Milan sits down with Meenakshi to discuss the evolution of U.S.-India relations, from the moment of independence in 1947 to Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021. The two discuss Nehru’s perennial skepticism of America, Bill Clinton’s lifelong fascination with India, and how China’s recent actions have given the partnership an unprecedented boost.  Episode notes: Rudra Chaudhuri, India and the United States Since 1947Tanvi Madan, Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations During the Cold WarGrand Tamasha, “Tanvi Madan on the U.S.-India-China Fateful Triangle” Grand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum” 

In this episode of the NSC, Dr. Happymon Jacob discusses India’s standing in the world with Dr Ashley J. Tellis (Senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC). The discussion focuses on how India-US relations will fare under a Joe Biden administration, and what the two sides could do to address the growing China Challenge in the Asian region. The discussion also provides important insights on the potential geopolitical changes in Southern Asia in the years ahead and what that might mean for New Delhi.

In the summer of 2008, the journalist Ananth Krishnan moved to Beijing to pick up some Mandarin. Little did he know that this fateful decision would kick off a decade-long immersion in Chinese politics, economics, foreign policy, and culture.  This week on the podcast, Ananth talks with Milan about his new book, “India’s China Challenge: A Journey Through China’s Rise and What It Means for India.” Ananth, the China correspondent for the The Hindu, talks to Milan about India’s underinvestment in understanding Chinese domestic affairs, the lessons India should learn from China’s economic miracle, and the status of current border tensions between the two neighbors. Plus, the two discuss how India can respond to the economic and political challenge that China poses. Episode notes:Grand Tamasha with Ashley J. Tellis on “India’s China Conundrum” Ashley J. Tellis, “Hustling in the Himalayas: The Sino-Indian Border Confrontation”

If you’ve watched prime time television in India at any point in the last two decades, there is zero chance that you are not acquainted with Milan’s guest on the show this week. Since 1999, the journalist Nidhi Razdan has been reporting on the biggest news coming out of India--from politics to the economy and, especially, foreign affairs. A stalwart presence night after night on NDTV--one of India’s leading news outlets--Nidhi was the executive editor of the channel and the primary anchor of their prime time news show, “Left, Right & Centre.” In June 2020, Nidhi announced that she was taking a break from reporting journalism in order to teach journalism at Harvard. Milan asks Nidhi about how television journalism has changed over the last two decades, why the business model of journalism is broken, and the festering issue of self-censorship in newsrooms. Milan and Nidhi also discuss the surprise “India angle” to the U.S. elections and the international ramifications of the Article 370 decision in Kashmir, Nidhi’s home state. Episode Notes:Nidhi Razdan, “The Shameful Vilification Of Rhea Chakraborty”Amit Varma, “Driven to Extremes. Part 1: News Television”Sevanti Ninan, “How India's Media Landscape Changed Over Five Years”Priya Ramani, “Your Guide To Loving Indian Media Again”Grand Tamasha episode with Ashley J. Tellis on “India’s China Conundrum”

For the first time in decades, shots have been fired between China and India along the Line of Actual Control. As India grapples with the twin domestic crises of COVID and the economy, it simultaneously must manage a complex diplomatic and defense engagement with the Chinese. This week on this show, Milan sits down with the Carnegie Endowment’s Ashley J. Tellis, one of the world’s foremost experts on Indian foreign policy. Milan and Ashley discuss recent fighting along India’s Chinese border, the motivations animating Chinese strategic calculations, the implications for U.S. foreign policy, and growing international concerns about the character of India’s domestic regime. Notes:Ashley J. Tellis, “Hustling in the Himalayas: The Sino-Indian Border Confrontation”Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s Path to the Big Leagues”Carnegie India webinar, “The Sino-Indian Border: Escalation & Disengagement”Sushant Singh, “Can India Transcend its Two-Front Challenge?”Seema Sirohi, “Pre-Election Bhai-Bhai”

Srinath Raghavan is joined by Ashley J. Tellis as they discuss the origins and nature of the current Sino-Indian border confrontation. They situate the crisis in the context of broader geopolitical developments and assess its impact on Sino-Indian ties. References: Hustling in the Himalayas: The Sino-Indian Border Confrontation  by Ashley J. Tellis  United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China by The White House, United States of America

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR’s senior director for public affairs Dan Aum discusses the new volume in the Strategic Asia series, Strategic Asia 2020: U.S.-China Competition for Global Influence, with editors Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills.

For nearly twenty years, relations between the United States and India have been on the upswing. Once a nuclear pariah and a country tagged as an important partner of the former Soviet Union, India has steadily grown closer to America since the start of the George W. Bush administration.This week, Milan talks with Ashley J. Tellis, co-author (with former U.S. Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill) of a new essay in Foreign Affairs called, “The India Dividend.” Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and was a key protagonist, during his time in the U.S. government, in the project to bolster U.S.-India ties. Ashley explains why the logic of U.S.-India ties is misunderstood by so many and why exactly the United States and India share a strategic convergence when it comes to China. Milan also asks Ashley about how the two countries can resolve flashpoints like Russia, Iran, and trade and how to assess the significance is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to the United States.

First, Milan sits down with Uttam Kumar of the Hindustan Times to discuss the state of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the heels of its second consecutive election victory. Uttam and Milan discuss the role that Amit Shah, the longtime confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly inaugurated Union Home Minister, will play in the Modi 2.0 government. Uttam also shares his insights into the future of the BJP party organization, the makeup of the Cabinet, and the government’s early priorities. Then, Milan talks with Ashley J. Tellis, who holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Milan asks Ashley about the foreign policy challenges facing the new government, as laid out in Tellis’ new Carnegie essay, “Troubles Aplenty: Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next Indian Government.” Tellis also assesses Modi’s first-term foreign policy record and the current turmoil in U.S.-India relations. Milan ends the conversation by asking Tellis to reflect on Modi’s choice of Dr. S. Jaishankar as the new External Affairs Minister.

In this episode, we interview the co-editors of NBR's Strategic Asia series. This year's volume explores China's strategic ambitions and its implications for the Indo-Pacific.  In this informative and wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills discuss how China seeks to reshape the international system to serve its strategic aims and present policy options for the United States and its partners to address the challenges posed by a rising China. Please join us for future discussions and let us know what you think of the podcast on Twitter (@NBRNews) or via email at media@nbr.org

Listen as Strategic Asia editors Ashley Tellis (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Michael Wills (NBR) discuss the newest volume in the series, Strategic Asia 2017–18: Power, Ideas, and Military Strategy in the Asia-Pacific.

The West has long been a font of stability, prosperity, and security. Yet when faced with global instability and economic uncertainty, it is tempting for states to react by closing borders, hoarding wealth, and solidifying power. In a compelling new book, The Fate of the West: The Battle to Save the World's Most Successful Political Idea, former Economist editor Bill Emmott argues for a return to the core values of openness and equality of opportunity that are increasingly eroded in today's global political climate. Emmott joins Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair in Strategic Affairs at Carnegie, and Tom Carver to discuss the challenges facing Western states and potential strategies for the revitalization of liberal democracy. Ashley Tellis served as senior adviser to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. He also served on the U.S. National Security Council staff as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. He is the author of India's Emerging Nuclear Posture (RAND, 2001) and co-author of Interpreting China's Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (RAND, 2000). Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs.​ (More on Tellis - carnegieendowment.org/experts/198) Bill Emmott is an independent writer, lecturer, and consultant on international affairs, and former editor-in-chief of the Economist. He is also chairman of The Wake Up Foundation. (More on Emmott - billemmott.com)

All eyes are on Mar-a-lago this week, where Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet for their first time. The summit is expected to be heavy on symbolism rather than on concrete deliverables, but the ability to set a positive tone and foundation for the relationship will be significant nevertheless. Ahead of this meeting, Paul Haenle discussed the Trump administration's foreign policy in its early months and expected outcomes for the Trump-Xi meeting with Ashley J. Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former special assistant to the President on the National Security Council under George W. Bush.

What does India's rise look like in today's Asia? Carnegie Fellow Ashley J. Tellis speaks at FSI's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, as part of a seminar series co-sponsored by Stanford's Center on South Asia.

What does India's rise look like in today's Asia? Carnegie Fellow Ashley J. Tellis speaks at FSI's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, as part of a seminar series co-sponsored by Stanford's Center on South Asia.

Scholars present the strategic and economic rationale for enhancing bilateral trade between India and the United States Panel: Ashley J. Tellis - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace C. Fred Bergsten - Peterson Institute for International Economics Pravin Krishna - School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Moderator: Edward Luce - Financial Times

C. Raja Mohan, Ashley J. Tellis, and Shyam Saran discuss the U.S.-India Relationship, Past, Present, and Future, with an introduction from Carnegie President William J. Burns.