The State of Political Science and Security Studies of India in the United States: Increased Importance but Declining Academic Attention

Abstract

More attention was paid by U.S. institutions of higher learning to the politics of India and security issues concerning South Asia during the cold war when the region was marginal to American interests and the now significant immigrant community was practically nonexistent than at present when India's dynamic economy has attracted the attention of Americans and the nuclearized subcontinent is a concern to Washington. Departments of political science have de-emphasized area studies at the very time the federal government is encouraging them to train specialists with language capabilities and cultural expertise necessary to conduct the war against terrorism. This article analyzes that dichotomy by documenting the attrition of teaching resources in the field despite the government's new mandate, and explaining what needs to be done to remedy the situation. In doing so, it assesses the contributions made by American scholars who teach at universities in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]