The interviews were conducted as part of the National Science Centre (NCN) Miniatura project "The importance of national political parties in shaping India's foreign policy towards the European Union", 2023/07/X/HS5/00234. The collection consists of notes generated from nine interviews conducted as part of a fieldwork visit to New Delhi, India, from 26 January to 6 February 2024.
The dataset comprises research notes produced from nine semi-structured expert interviews with individuals professionally involved in the analysis and formulation of Indian foreign policy. The participants included politicians, academics specializing in international relations and European studies, analysts from policy think tanks, and specialists working in institutions engaged in foreign policy discussions in India. They were selected because of their expertise in India–European Union relations, Indian foreign policy decision-making processes, and the influence of domestic political actors on external relations.
The interviews explored several thematic areas connected to the project’s research questions, including:
- the impact of national political parties in India on the development of foreign policy towards the EU
- how party ideology, leadership, and domestic political competition shape India’s approach toward international partners,
- perceptions regarding the strategic significance of India–European Union relations,
- the role of parliamentary politics and party networks in foreign policy discussions related to the EU, and
- the broader relationship between domestic political dynamics and international diplomacy in India.
A semi-structured interview format was used, allowing respondents to expand on their views while ensuring that consistent themes were addressed across all interviews. Notes were recorded during and immediately after the interviews to capture key arguments, interpretations, and contextual insights.
All interview materials have been anonymized to protect the identities of the participants and to comply with research ethics guidelines and confidentiality agreements made with interviewees. Several respondents requested anonymity due to the politically sensitive nature of discussions related to party politics and foreign policy decision-making in India, as well as their professional roles in academic, policy, or advisory settings. Anonymization enabled participants to share their views openly and candidly without concerns about attribution.
