AMERICA FIRST, SOUTH ASIA LATER? REASSESSING U.S. POLICY TOWARD INDIA AND PAKISTAN UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

The research method of this paper is qualitative and relies on the interpretivist approach and post-positivist philosophy to examine the impact of the America First approach by the Trump administration has had on the relationship of the United States with both India and Pakistan in ways that are complex. This two paradigm can assist us in perfectly realizing the way the chief political and diplomatic figures of the three nations perceive and interpret shifts in American strategic priorities. It also transcends mere viewing of facts but takes into account the subjective intricacies of international relations. The analysis of the changes in the U.S. foreign policy that have taken place during the Trump administration in the scope of the dip- lomatic activity, official language, and reaction of the other countries can be introduced as the qualitative case study design. It involved 20 semi-structured interviews with specially se- lected experts of different demographic and professional backgrounds. These interviews made it possible to explore participants' points of view and experiences in a flexible and thorough way. Along with primary data, a content analysis of secondary sources such policy documents, speeches, and news reports was done to systematically find patterns and themes that were relevant to the research questions. The Braun and Clarke thematic analysis ap-proach was used to find the main themes in the data research. These themes included strate- gic favouritism towards India, transactional diplomacy, security realignment, and how dif- ferent regions see the U.S. mediation obligations. This strategy made it possible to look at how Indian and Pakistani players reacted differently to changes in U.S. policy. The method's strictness and sensitivity to context gave us a full picture of how the complicated interactions between economic, security, and diplomatic factors affected South Asia's growing ties with the US under the Trump presidency.

Keywords: America First; South Asia; U.S.-India Relations; U.S.-Pakistan Relations; Trump Administration; Strategic Realignment