Examining exceptionalism in national security cultures: a comparative study of the United States and India

ABSTRACT The idea of American exceptionalism in guiding US national security concerns has often come under scrutiny in the past from security analysts and policy makers alike. The US is not alone in projecting its exceptional values in its foreign policy articulations. Indian foreign policy assertions also stress India’s unique civilizational qualities that make it capable of pursuing a “peaceful” modernity as opposed to the “violent” modernity of the West. The aim of this paper is to analyze how the idea of exceptionalism impacts the national security cultures of the two biggest democracies of the world. What are US and Indian exceptionalism in the context of international relations? How do they translate into the national security cultures of a superpower and a rising power? Is their national security culture driven by fear or hope, trust or mistrust, flexible or rigid strategies? These are some of the issues that this paper seeks to address.