Different Facets of a Strategic Partnership: How the EU is Viewed by Political and Business Elites, Civil Society and the Press in India

Abstract

This article presents the main findings of an empirical analysis of how Indian political and business elites, civil society and the press perceive the global role of the EU. This analysis is mainly based on a systematic review of newspaper articles available on the Lexis Nexis and Proquest databases from January 2005 to October 2006, as well as a number of official documents and publications. The analysis reveals that, in spite of the existence of a strategic partnership with India, the EU is a rather minor theme in the Indian social, political and cultural debate. When looking in detail at what issues are generally associated with the EU, this article argues that the Indian political elites’ discourse is rather focused on the rhetorical reference to the ‘common values’ shared by the India and the Europe, while business elites focus primarily on the financial opportunities provided by EU–India economic relations. On the other hand, civil society organizations highlight the negative effect of the EU’s trade and agricultural policies, while the press reports more broadly on the EU’s diplomatic missions and humanitarian assistance.