Regional imperative: administration of U.S. foreign policy towards South Asian States under presidents Johnson and Nixon

The relevance of the regional imperative's diagnosis and prescriptions for U.S. policy toward South Asia has been amply demonstrated by the Carter administration's response to Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, Global parochialism toward South Asia under Presidents Johnson and Nixon distorted perceptions of regional forces and blocked effective understanding of America's regional and global interests. It also sacrificed long term programs to abortive efforts at quick solutions. The coordination of complexity more often suffered than benefited from sporadic presidential interventions in the conduct of foreign policy toward South Asia. Preoccupied with super-power rivalry and domestic politics, Presidents Johnson and Nixon relied on the hierarchy and command of imperative coordination rather than the collegiality of deliberative coordi nation. The contributions of knowledgeable professionals were ignored or denounced in favor of marginally relevant or spurious global imperatives.
Based on extensive research carried out under the direction of the authors, this volume unfolds the dramatic events in South Asia during the Johnson-Nixon administrations and examines critically the capacity of the U.S. government to maintain coordination among a complexity of issues and policies.