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Americans pleased with Indian election results, seeing how democracy is functioning well there: Rick Rossow
He said that the US-India partnership is likely to continue positively, even with the coalition partners forming the new government.
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Rick Rossow at the White House. / New India Abroad
Richard ‘Rick’ Rossow, the chair of US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that Americans are “pleased to see that India still has a vibrant democracy”. In an interview with New India Abroad, he noted that while there were concerns about the potential erosion of democratic processes, the resurgence of regional parties and the Congress party in the recently-concluded general elections indicates a healthy democratic system.
“The Prime Minister that we've come to know and engage in a lot of different forums, we see a good defense cooperation, and economic reforms as a partner is also very, I think, heartwarming. So I think on both fronts, a lot of Americans are kind of pleased with the result,” he added.
Impact of new govt on India-US partnership
In his role at CSIS, Rossow helps frame and shape policies to promote greater business and economic engagement between US and India, with a unique focus on tracking and engaging Indian states.
Rossow told New India Abroad that the US-India partnership is likely to continue positively, even with the coalition partners forming the new government. “I don't think the US-India relationship is going to be impacted in any dramatic way. The area that we've actually seen the most progress is on US-India military ties. And I don't suspect under a coalition arrangement, you're going to see a dramatic change,” he said.
Rossow observed a dramatic period of reforms when the Narendra Modi government first took office in 2014. He highlighted significant liberalization of foreign direct investment (FDI), with around 40 positive moves in the initial years.
“You began to see a lot of domestic deregulation in areas like GST and the bankruptcy code, and also a lot of targeting on this idea of cooperative federalism, challenging states to have a better business environment. But about midway through its first term and into the second term, a real slowdown [was seen] in some of those big reforms,” Rossow said.
Experience with other Indian parties
Rossow mentioned his experience working with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), noting their strong reform-oriented approach, which in some respects surpasses that of the BJP. He also highlighted the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, which is focused on bringing development to one of India's least developed states.
“I've got a lot of experience working with the Telugu Descent Party, who, in a lot of ways, are more reform-oriented, even than the BJP,” he said. “The Janata Dal United in Bihar, which is overridingly focused on what kind of development can be brought to their home state, which, as we know, is one of the least developed states in India,” he added.
Rossow also remarked on Chandrababu Naidu's reputation as a global leader, stating, “Naidu has long been recognized as really kind of positioning himself as a bit of a global leader. And a lot of the things he did when he was earlier chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, especially undivided Andhra Pradesh, empowering senior bureaucrats, trying to attract foreign investment and really focusing on development issues that may have been ignored.”
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