Paul Kapur Leads South Asia Bureau with India Focus
With Kapur at the helm, the US is likely to pursue a more nuanced approach to South Asia, one that acknowledges the region's security challenges and seeks to promote cooperation and stability through careful diplomacy and strategic partnerships. His expertise and experience will be crucial in shaping the US policy direction in the region, and his nomination is seen as a significant development in the US approach to South Asia.
S. Paul Kapur, a renowned professor and expert on South Asian politics and security, has been nominated by the Trump administration to lead the South Asia bureau at the State Department, overseeing diplomatic ties with India and the region.
Kapur, a specialist in South Asian security dynamics, has written extensively on the region's security challenges, including Pakistan's use of militant groups and nuclear deterrence strategies. He believes that Pakistan's reliance on these groups is a deliberate state policy, which has spiraled out of control. Kapur's views on India are balanced, recognizing it as an essential US partner, while also acknowledging challenges in the relationship, such as disagreements over the war in Ukraine and the lack of a US-India free trade agreement.
As a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, Kapur has served in the State Department's policy planning team and written several books on South Asia, including "Jihad as Grand Strategy" and "Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia". His expertise and experience are expected to shape the US policy direction in the region, which will likely be critical of Pakistan's militant groups and supportive of India's strategic partnership with the US.
Kapur's nomination suggests a new direction for the US in South Asia, one that prioritizes deepening the India-US strategic partnership while navigating the complexities of the region. His leadership at the State Department will be closely watched, as he seeks to balance the delicate dynamics of the region and promote stability and cooperation.
