There have been changes in American foreign policy since Sept 11.

Firstly, as Mr Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek magazine has written, “a foreign policy of fiats and ultimatums will give way to one of negotiations and diplomacy”, dictated by the need to obtain the cooperation of other countries to hold together the international coalition against terror.

Yet, beneath this new multilateralism, the vigour and tenacity of US demands on specific countries should not be underestimated. Further, the military part of the campaign against terrorism could be a multi-stage one, with Afghanistan only the first stage. If the US does not succeed in achieving its objectives through multinational cooperation, unilateral impulses could come to the fore again.

Secondly, the overriding priority being accorded to the anti-terrorism war means that certain countries and regions have become strategically more important. South Asia and Central Asia have acquired greater salience. In particular, there has been an about-turn in American policy on Pakistan. Favours have to be returned and one can anticipate considerable economic support for Pakistan.

US support for Islamabad will probably not be at the expense of the partnership which the US has been forging with India in recent years. India is needed for the future geopolitical realities in Asia, centering on the rise of China.

Thirdly, as during the Cold War, military and security preoccupations could result in soft-peddling of concerns about human rights and democracy, which have featured prominently, even if selectively, in American foreign policy in the decade since the end of the Cold War. The degree of soft-peddling could vary, depending on the importance of particular countries to American interests.

The events since Sept 11 are also altering relations between the major powers. Perhaps the most intriguing is the closer relationship between Russia and the West arising from the common interest against terrorism. Such a development would be a setback to China's efforts to align itself with Russia in order to check dominant American power and obtain better leverage with Washington.