Abstract

In recent years, arguably no region of the world has climbed the ranks of America's strategic priorities faster than South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. For much of the Cold War, South Asia was largely an afterthought for the US government, with Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia occupying the lion's share of America's strategic attention. Since the collapse of the USSR and the turn of the century, however, new geopolitical challenges and opportunities for the US have compelled a strategic reorientation toward South Asia and the Indian Ocean.