Memo #1

Due in class on Monday Sept 20.

Choose one of the following and answer in the format provided by the memo guidelines [under the link called Beyond the Course] on this website.

A) South Asia is not a priority area for the United States. However, India is attractive as a market for US goods while Pakistan presents the possibility of becoming a failed state. On the other hand, India is likely to grow with or without official US involvement whereas Pakistan cannot be neglected. India also presents a challenge in that it is the destination for outsourced US jobs whereas Pakistan presents no such competition. Should the United States, therefore, focus its economic energies and resources on Pakistan and leave India to its own devices?

OR

B) Multi-party systems, while more democratic, often lead to coalition governments that cannot make coherent policies. Is this a correct assumption re India? Should India follow the US model and move toward a two-party model?

OR

C) Multi-party systems, while more democratic, often lead to coalition governments that cannot make coherent policies. Yet in the case of Pakistan, most US observers assume that a truly democratic system will produce a unified coherent Islamist majority, which may be anti-US in orientation. Is that assumption correct? Depending on your answer, what should the US do to ensure a favorable outcome?