American Interests in South Asia: Building a Grand Strategy in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India

American Interests in South Asia is the latest in a series of policy books stemming from the Aspen Strategy Group's annual summer workshop. This book provides an intensive exploration of the interconnected national security challenges posed by the events in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Chapters focus on the lessons from history and balance of power in the region, the current strategy in Afghanistan, the effect of American foreign assistance and private-sector development, and the implications of India-Pakistan relations for the United States. The book also includes a preface by ASG director Nicholas Burns and concluding observations by Harvard University's Meghan O'Sullivan. Together, these chapters seek to further collective understanding of the current issues facing the region and help policymakers find a way to cope with what has become one of America's most pressing security problems.

Contributors include: Samina Ahmed (International Crisis Group), Nancy Birdsall (Center for Global Development), Robert D. Blackwill (Council on Foreign Relations), James Dobbins (RAND Corporation), John Dowdy (McKinsey and Company), Wren Elhai (Center for Global Development), Andrew Erdmann (McKinsey and Company), Nathaniel Fick (Center for a New American Security), Molly Kinder (Center for Global Development), Clare Lockhart (Institute for State Effectiveness), Anja Manuel (The Rice Hadley Group), Michael O’Hanlon (Brookings Institution), and Meghan O’Sullivan (Harvard University).

Foreword by:

Joseph S. Nye Jr. is University Distinguished Service Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, a former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs and former chair of the National Intelligence Council. Brent Scowcroft, president of the Scowcroft Group, served as national security adviser to Presidents Ford and George H. W. Bush.