One of the great accidents of history is the Partition of the subcontinent into the two states of India and Pakistan, and the onset of the cold war as a global struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. The major focus of the course is on the interaction between regional conflicts, the most enduring symbolized by the unresolved dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, and the global strategies of rival great powers which sought to tip the balance of power in their favor by military and ideological influence over the "third world." These conflicts were exacerbated by the Indian leadership's commitment to an independent foreign policy of non-alignment, and its aspirations to leadership of newly independent states in Asia and Middle East, ranged against Pakistan's inability to establish a viable state without exernal support. The resulting alignments and alliances drew the subcontinent into the center of cold war rivalries. The last part of the course focuses on the changing security environment after the cold war, the rise of India and China as competitors for influence; and problems posed by persisting mutual resentment and distrust in India and the United States, despite recognition on both sides of the need to cooperate and avoid China's domination of Asia.
