New Confidence in a Nuclear India

Fareed Zakaria, foreign affairs analyst for CNN, posted a brief analysis of the domestic and international implications of the confidence vote in India.  Last week, I briefly discussed the difficulties facing the Indian government over the civilian nuclear power deal signed with the United States.  On Tuesday, the government narrowly survived the confidence vote and approved the deal—by a vote of 275 in favor, 256 opposed.

Zakaria’s analysis is insightful.  He argues that the victory of the Congress Party in the confidence vote likely means big changes for India.  Domestically, Zakaria argues that the ruling Congress Party’s break with their Communist Party allies means that economic reform, which had stalled for years in the face of leftist opposition, is now likely to move forward.  We’re likely to see more dramatic moves towards liberalization and privatization in India, which may spur economic growth (and perhaps growing inequality as well).

Internationally, the vote signals a shift in the balance of power in Asia, with India moving closer to the United States as a potential ally to rival China.  Big imlications from the Indian political re-alignment.