Saurav Dutt’s New Book Analyses US–India Relations Under Trump and Modi

A new book by Political Analyst and Author Saurav Dutt, the writer of the acclaimed “Modi & Me: A Political, Cultural and Religious Reawakening”, takes a deep-dive into how the partnership between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi originated and continues to evolve during the Trump 2.0 era, all the while preserving political orthodoxies on the promise of making their countries 'Great Again'.

Saurav Dutt’s new book Balance of Power: US-India Ties in the Epoch of Trump and Modi provides an in-depth look at America's relations with India under the Trump presidency, Modi's world view, as well as the  changing relationships between the United States with India's neighbours, Pakistan and China, as well as Modi and Trump’s united battle against Islamist terror. This unflinching study of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Make India Great Again (MIGA) patriotic movements is a valuable resource for audiences interested in the relationship between the two largest democracies in the world, offering insights into the perspectives of both leaders and providing a glimpse into the complex issues that drive this incredible partnership.

Trade Deal Just Announced

The book is released just as President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut US tariffs on the nation's goods to 18% from 50%. Trump said via Truth Social that a phone call with Modi included discussions of trade and the Russia-Ukraine war. Additionally, Trump said Modi committed to buying more than $500bn (£366bn) worth of American goods including energy, technology, agriculture and coal products.

Speaking on the announcement of the trade development and release of the book, Dutt commented “This positive news highlights the importance of these two great nations securing vital bilateral supply chains, as well as other national and economic security issues of mutual interest such as energy security and tech cooperation. The India-US Strategic Partnership is of immense importance and the particularly strong friendship between Trump and Modi has taken these talks into a direction naysayers were unprepared for. These are exciting times for MAGA as well as India’s own “Viksit Bharat” project which in the American context translates into MIGA, both of which are analysed at length in my new book.”

MAGA and MIGA movements continue to flourish

“Even though differences can still likely remain on issues such as trade, multilateralism, and regional security despite the signing of a historic agreement” Dutt added “this book contends that greater political, diplomatic, strategic, and defense cooperation between these two great nations can only increase convergence at the bilateral and multilateral level, in relations with third countries, and in the realm of regional security and geopolitics – and that despite divergences on certain red lines such as agriculture, the ideological and personal familiarity between two of the most consequential world leaders in recent times can only result in new chapters of growth and unheralded prosperity as the MAGA and MIGA movements continue to flourish.”

As Trump as well as Modi set out to reorient their own countries and the hemispheres they operate within, Dutt, in Balance of Power: US-India Ties in the Epoch of Trump and Modi, provides a detailed analysis of the changes occurring in America’s relations with the world under the Trump presidency and what it means for India.

Shifting Headwinds but Modi and Trump Friendship Stays Strong

Dutt further commented “India and the US are trying hard to figure out their respective roles during Trump 2.0 with economic and geopolitical headwinds constantly shifting the nature of their biliteral ties. Yet while both democracies contend with contesting visions of nationhood, Trump and Modi’s shared concerns over national security, borders, international trade, economic order, illegal immigration, citizenship, state-society relations, the place of minorities, anti-West and anti-Indian terror, as well as overreaching institutional trust in the potential of their countries to become “great again” will ultimately bring them closer than ever.

This is clear to see with the announcement of a historic trade deal that unites these two great leaders and bodes well for the remainder of their respective terms – but what of the future of the MAGA and MIGA projects afterwards? Only time will tell.”

Dutt, who has previously featured on The Debate with Arnab Goswami, also commented that:

“Nations like India rarely pursue strategic autonomy out of political preference. More often, they are driven to it and Trump’s movements on this front have hastened that resolve. True Indian sovereignty and independence in this modern age is now tied not just to ideological ambition but rather has become a structural requirement within a form of international politics dominated by greater power competition; and as that power reasserts itself as the organizing principle of international affairs and interdependence India must understand the transactional approach of modern powerplay geopolitics.”

“For ‘MIGA’ to flourish in the years ahead” Dutt observed “India must leverage ‘Making India Great Again’ not as an aspirational project, but as a response to structural geopolitical pressure, ensuring that it is never again exposed to trade frictions, sanction stand-offs, and political conditionality. A clear example is in the way Modi and India navigated uncertain waters after the original Trump Tariffs hit the nation, by using a potentially volatile moment as an opportunity to deregulate the economy, tidy up the tax code and strike new deals with other export markets. That’s the behaviour of a winning country and a winning premier.”

Saurav Dutt is a political researcher and analyst on Indo-Pacific security and political affairs, UK/US/India foreign policy, and UK/US/India national security. Dutt has written extensively on politics, political economy, society, and the foreign policy of India and the US, particularly on the rise of Narendra Modi in India. His next book will focus on the ‘Make India Great Again’ and ‘MIGA’ populist and nationalist movement.