'donald Trump Might Give India A Sweetheart Deal': Us Scholar On Stopping India-pakistan War

American overseas argumentation clever clever John Mearsheimer has suggested that erstwhile President Donald Trump mightiness effort to forestall an India-Pakistan warfare by offering India a lucrative economical incentive. In comments made to Spectator TV, Mearsheimer speculated that tariffs—controversial arsenic they were—could service arsenic leverage successful high-stakes diplomacy.

“Maybe Trump could show nan Indians that he'd springiness them a existent sweetheart woody if he felt they were connected nan verge of going to warfare and Trump didn't want them to spell to war,” Mearsheimer said.

He acknowledged nan beardown ties betwixt nan 2 administrations during Trump’s presidency, saying, “I deliberation relations betwixt nan Trump management and nan Modi management are very good, and we're not apt to play difficult shot pinch Modi successful nan measurement you conscionable described.” Still, he admitted, “It’s conscionable difficult to opportunity what’s going connected pinch respect to US-Indian relations complete nan Kashmir situation astatine this constituent successful time.”

The broader context, according to Mearsheimer, is acold much alarming. He warned that nan India-Pakistan conflict is dangerously unstable, and noted that nan United States has historically intervened to de-escalate tensions. “These are 2 nuclear-armed countries that person a history of fighting wars,” he said. “In nan past, nan United States has intervened successful crises betwixt these 2 countries to spell to awesome lengths to unopen them down.”

He explained that U.S. diplomacy has often focused connected preventing India from launching a awesome attack, fearing that it could trigger Pakistan’s atomic response. “We’ve ever feared that a conflict that started disconnected astatine nan accepted level would escalate to nan atomic level,” he said, pointing to nan subject imbalance. “The accepted equilibrium of powerfulness greatly favors nan Indians.”

However, Mearsheimer expressed uncertainty that Trump would respond pinch nan urgency erstwhile presidents demonstrated. “You don't person nan consciousness that nan Trump management is paying observant attraction to this conflict,” he said. “Let’s dream this is not nan case, but this 1 could rotation retired of control.”

Published on: May 8, 2025 8:53 AM IST