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Abstract

According to the recent EuroBarometer survey about the pubic opinion of the EU outside Europe, people tend to have a much more positive opinion of the EU outside than inside of it. This thesis aims to study what is the public opinion of the EU outside Europe. This thesis will use a case study, analyzing only one non-European country, such as India. India was chosen as case study, due to its global importance in terms of demography, increasing economic share in world trade, and the many EU-India partnerships and democracy. The reason why this thesis becomes relevant, and offers new insights on the topic of public opinion about the EU outside Europe, is the fact that no specific and in-depth research has been conducted in India recently about the perceptions and opinions of the EU, especially in this interesting period of the EU’s history, that has been marked by the withdrawal of the UK. Therefore, through the analysis of five English-Language newspapers from India, and through individual interviews and focus group discussions, this thesis was able to bring a new insight about what is the public opinion of the EU in India in the contemporary time. This research shows that the EU is depicted and portrayed in many articles of the five Indian newspapers here analyzed with a secondary degree of centrality, having therefore a low intensity of representation, whereas every interviewee has a positive opinion of Europe and of the EU, along with the fact that not all the interviewees were aware or were able to provide a concrete answer and definition of the EU.

Keywords

Public Opinion, India, European Union, Europe, qualitative analysis

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Table of Contents

List of abbreviations……….3

Preface………..4

Introduction………..5

1. Context and Research Question……….9

2. Public Opinion………..13

2.1 Definition of public opinion……….13

2.2 Relevance of studying the public opinion………15

2.3 Mass Media and Public Opinion………..16

2.4 Public opinion of the European Union inside and outside Europe………..19

2.5 Public opinion of the EU and Europe in India……….22

3. India and the European Union: brief historical overview……….25

4. Methodological framework………..28

4.1 Method and Theory………..28

4.2 Hypothesis description……….31

4.3 Data collection………..31

5. Analysis of the newspapers’ results…….……….39

6. Discussion upon the newspapers’ results………..45

7. Analysis of the Interviews’ results………48

8. Analysis of the Focus Group Discussions’ results………58

9. Discussion upon the interviews and focus group discussions’ results………..61

10. Limits of the research………64

Conclusions……….65

Bibliography………68

Appendices………..72

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List of abbreviations

ABC= Audit Bureau of Circulations APP= Asia Pacific Perceptions

CCA= Commercial Cooperation Agreement EEC= European Economic Community JAP= Joint Action Plan


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Preface

This thesis represents the end of a long and rewarding path of my education. I decided to write this thesis about the topic of public opinion of the European Union (EU) because I am very interested in what are the perceptions, the ideas, the images and the opinions that are often associated or linked to this international organization outside Europe. The idea of concentrating and analyzing the outsider point of view of the EU originated during my third semester in India at Pune University in 2017, where I had the chance to learn a lot, and understand how things are perceived in a different way from what we are normally used to in Europe. As European in India I understood that sometimes, to get a better and deeper look at things or problems, we need to step back and look at things or problems from a different perspective.

I want to thank my two supervisors who accompanied, helped and supported me during my research. I also want to thank all the people that have been involved in my research analysis, and who offered their time and helped me with their answers and opinions.

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Introduction

Understanding what people think about the EU, how people perceive it and how people feel about it, it is nowadays a very important aspect to study. Considering the time of uncertainty and threat in which this international organization is going through, it is obvious why, what people think and feel about it, becomes relevant and crucial. The idea of my Master thesis is that of exploring the public opinion of the EU outside Europe. The idea of this topic originates from a recent EuroBarometer survey, where it is showed how people from outside the EU have much more positive opinions about the EU. In this EuroBarometer survey the countries that were included were India, the US, Canada, China, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Turkey. These countries represent 49% of the world population and 61% of global GDP. In the three most populated of these countries (China, India and the USA), at least three quarters of respondents have a positive view of the EU. The results of the survey show how the respondents in most 1 of the countries covered by the survey have a positive view of the EU: 94% in Brazil, 84% in China, 83% in India, 76% in Japan, 79% in Canada, 75% in the USA, 67% in Australia and 54% in Turkey. 2

This is the most recent survey about the public opinion of the EU outside Europe, but it is not the only one. In the past in fact, several other surveys have been conducted throughout the years. In 2007 for example, the PEW Global Attitude Survey showed that “two-thirds of the citizen of countries outside Europe hold positive opinions of the EU.” The Pew Research Center “is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs 3 the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world,” and is often used as 4 a reliable source when dealing with the topic of public opinion. Among many different surveys, it is worth reporting the international Asia Pacific Perceptions (APP) project, conducted in 2004-2005, which was “designed to examine public, elite and media

Future of Europe – Views from outside the EU, accessed May 6, 2018, http://bit.ly/2unijCA.

1

Ibid.

2

Bernd Schlipphak, “Action and attitudes matter: International public opinion towards the European

3

Union,” European Union Politics 14(4) 590-618, 2013.

Pew Research Center, accessed May 25, 2018, http://www.pewresearch.org/about/.

4

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perceptions of the EU in four of its external interlocutors.” Another important project 5 that has been executed in order to study the public opinion of the EU outside Europe has been the so called “EU in the Eyes of Asia” which aim was that of “focusing on perceptions to inform us about the global importance of the EU, and how this is being interpreted outside of Europe.” 6

The reason why studying the perceptions and the public opinions of the people who live outside Europe becomes important is because “such knowledge may help to more clearly identify and define Europe for itself in this period of reflection.” After the 7 creation in fact of the EU in 1957, several challenges had to be overcome by the new born EU. Among the various challenges, one of the most difficult one, that still represents a problem in the advancement of the integration process, is related to the topic of European identity. In fact, “the rejection of the proposed Constitutional treaty by two of the founding member states in 2005 brought the EU identity issue to the fore, as it was widely believed to demonstrate that European integration could not continue to evolve.” For this reason the EU itself in the 21st century started to become more 8 interested in how it was being perceived and viewed outside Europe and what kind of consequences these perceptions and images of the EU might have on the EU itself. 9 Studying the perceptions of the outsiders and analyze how the EU is perceived and interpreted can be an optimal starting point to foster collective narratives and identities about Europe. As Campbell says “identity and difference are inextricably entwined; you cannot have one without the other.” Therefore understanding what Europe is, what it 10 means to be European can be observed and studied in the perceptions of the non-

Natalia Chaban, Jessica Bain, Katrina Stats & Paveena Sutthisripok, “Seeing Europe through the Eyes

5

of Others: How ‘Local’ is the EU in Asia-Pacifc News?” Language and Intercultural Communication, 6:3-4, 188-210, 2006.

Martin Holland, Peter Ryan, Alojzy Z. Nowak and Natalia Chaban, The EU through the Eyes of Asia.

6

Vol. [vol. I], : Media, Public and Elite Perceptions in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, (Warsaw: WWZ, 2007).

Ibid.

7

Natalia Chaban, Jessica Bain, Katrina Stats & Paveena Sutthisripok, “Seeing Europe through the Eyes

8

of Others: How ‘Local’ is the EU in Asia-Pacifc News?” Language and Intercultural Communication, 6:3-4, 188-210, 2006.

Natalia Chaban and Martin Holland, “Assuming Superpower Status? Evolving Asian Perceptions of the

9

Eu,” L’espace Politique (20130409) (2013).

D. Campbell, Writing Security: United States’ Foreign Policy and the politics of Identity, (Glasgow:

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University of Minnesota Press, 1992).

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European, because “a European identity necessarily contains a demarcation from the non-Europeans,” and therefore their point of view might be a very insightful starting 11 point for any further studies or understandings related to the identity issue.

The context of this Master thesis is the time of uncertainty and unpredictability in which the EU has been standing for the last couple of years. After ‘Brexit', the Eurozone crisis and the rise of nationalism in many of the EU member states, public opinion about the EU has become central and very important. Whereas inside the EU people do not always have a positive opinion about the EU, it is surprising and very interesting to notice how outside of the European continent, people seem to have much more positive opinions and views about the EU and its future.

This thesis is going to investigate what is the public opinion of the EU outside the European continent, based on the fact that people outside the EU have much more positive opinions about the EU than people from inside. This topic becomes even more relevant at this moment of the history where the EU is focusing on its future, on its upcoming directions and goals, as already demonstrated by the creation of the White Paper last March 2017 and the State of the European Union by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker last September 13, 2017.

I decided to limit my thesis on the analysis of just one significant country, such as India, that is chosen primarily for the three following reasons. First of all, because it was one of the country that took part in the recent EuroBarometer survey, secondly because I have spent my third semester in India conducting a research project about public opinions of the EU and Europe in India because I was interested to see what were the public opinions of the EU and Europe of a developing country like India, and thirdly due to the global importance of India in terms to demography, increasing economic share in world trade, EU- India partnership and democracy. The reason why this thesis becomes relevant, and offers new insights on the topic of public opinions about the EU outside Europe, is the fact that no specific and in-depth research has been conducted in India recently about the perceptions and opinions of the EU, especially in this interesting period of the EU’s history, that has been marked by the withdrawal of the UK.

B. Stråth, “Introductory Report,” in Intercultural Dialogue, (Brussels: Office for Official Publications

11

of the European Union, 2002).

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This thesis will therefore approach and address the topic of the public opinion of the EU outside Europe in ten chapters, describing and illustrating first of all the context and the research question. Subsequently, this thesis will try to provide a definition of public opinion and a brief history of the relations between India and the EU. After this initial part, this thesis will focus more on its methodological aspects, describing the hypothesis of the research and the analysis approaches, to conclude with the description of the obtained results and outcomes of the conducted analysis.

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1. Context and Research Question

The research question that this thesis will try to study and investigate upon is what is the public opinion about the EU in India, and how the EU is perceived and seen in India.

The thesis will try to explore what are the perceptions, the ideas, the beliefs, the thoughts and the images that are associated with the EU, trying to understand more in depth what people think, believe and perceive from the outside and their point of view.

Based on the results of the latest survey, but also on previous surveys that have been conducted in this country, this thesis will not only try to confirm whether the public opinion of the EU is positive or negative, but will try also to understand what are the perceptions and the images that are associated with it, and what are the stereotypes, the false myths, the common beliefs and the common ideas that are shared about the EU.

Since the 21st century, the EU has started to become interested in how the EU is perceived and seen outside its borders and around the world. This intention is part of a more complex process that has to do with the period of uncertainty in which the EU is standing right now. After the creation of the EU in fact, it was clear how this new union has always and only be a strong economic union, but nothing more than that. Recently the EU has decided to invest and to become something more than just an economic union, aiming at creating also a political union among all the different countries. The rejection of the European constitution by some members of the EU brought the problem of the European identity to the centre, and some fundamental questions have now risen up, like “what is Europe and where it is going?” In this context of uncertainty, 12 sometimes the answers can be found outside, and that is why studying the perceptions and the ways the EU is perceived and seen outside of Europe becomes important and central for the EU itself. The analysis of an external perception of the EU “constitutes a fundamental component of an ongoing process of EU identity linking the perception of

‘Others’ and self-perception,” that the EU started to be interested in very recently, with 13

Natalia Chaban, Jessica Bain, Katrina Stats & Paveena Sutthisripok, “Seeing Europe through the Eyes

12

of Others: How ‘Local’ is the EU in Asia-Pacifc News?” Language and Intercultural Communication, 6:3-4, 188-210, 2006.

Martin Holland, Peter Ryan, Alojzy Z. Nowak and Natalia Chaban, The Eu through the Eyes of Asia.

13

Vol. [vol. I], : Media, Public and Elite Perceptions in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, (Warsaw: WWZ, 2007).

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the launch for example of the European External Action Service, or the creation of the post of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Looking at the way the EU is perceived outside Europe can also tell a lot about the role the EU is seen to be playing worldwide, and if there is any correspondence between how the EU is understood inside Europe and outside. According to Emerson in fact, after the Lisbon Treaty, the EU was “sure to become a major actor in global affairs,” but is it perceived the same outside Europe, even after important events, such 14 as the Euro crisis or Brexit? Is it still perceived as worldwide important actor even during many “contemporary debates on European integration that emphasize the importance of the development of a European identity as a prerequisite for further integration?” In this perspective, looking at an outsider point of view can provide 15

“insights on how the EU is actually judged as an international actor, on how outsiders’

expectations and perceptions impact the EU’s foreign policy performance, and can help to shape the EU’s identity and roles.” 16

Several studies have been therefore conducted in this perspective to understand how the EU was received and seen outside Europe. Among these studies, the ones that are worth reporting are the following. First of all, the trans-national comparative research project ‘the EU through the eyes of Asia’ that involved around 20 countries in 17 the Asia-Pacific area. Secondly, the analysis conducted by Hollande and Chaban on

“how the Asian reputable news media represent the EU, and how this is translated into the images and perceptions held by citizens in Asia towards the Union.” Thirdly, the 18 Asia Pacific Perceptions (APP) project, conducted in 2004-2005, and “designed to

M. Emerson, R Balfour, T. Corthaut, P. M. Kaczynski, T. Renard and J. Wouters, Upgrading the EU's

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Role as Global Actor: Institutions, Law and the Restructuring of European Diplomacy, (Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, 2011).

Vasiliki Triga and Konstantinos Vadratsikas, The Impact of Media Representations of the EU and its

15

Policies on European Identity, COHESIFY research paper, COHESIFY PACKAGE 4 – Task 4.1: output 4.1, Department of Communication and Internet Studies Cyprus University of Technology.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The Public Attitudes and Images of the European Union in

16

India,” India Quarterly, Vol 68, Issue 4, pp. 331 - 343, First Published January 23, 2013.

Natalia Chaban, Martin Holland, Peter Ryan, Asia-Europe Foundation, and National Centre for

17

Research on Europe (N.Z.), The Eu through the Eyes of Asia. Vol. Volume Ii, New Cases, New Findings, (Singapore: World Scientific, 2009).

Natalia Chaban and Martin Holland, “Assuming Superpower Status? Evolving Asian Perceptions of the

18

Eu,” L’espace Politique (20130409) (2013).

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examine public, elite and media perceptions of the EU in four of its external interlocutors.” 19

This thesis will not analyze the public opinions and perceptions of the EU globally, but it will only concentrate in one country, such as India. Several studies have already been conducted only taking into consideration this country. Among these studies we can find Vaugier-Chatterjee’s study on the way Indian print media portrayed individual EU member states, or Subrahmanyam’s study, which comprised historical overviews, or again Dixit’s study with reminiscences of former diplomats and also Lisbonne-de Vergeron’s study on assessments based on conversations and elite interviews, where people expressed great admiration for the EU, seen as the main responsible for the creation of peace and prosperity in Europe. Moreover, other studies 20 aimed to explore how public opinion, the political elite and civil society organizations have perceived the EU. It is clear at this point that India has been often the subject of 21 study of many different scholars, due to the fact that the EU visibility in India has been a constant theme in periodic EU communications and other documents on India since the mid-1990s. In fact, in 1996, the Communication on ‘EU-India Enhanced 22 Partnership’ affirmed that particular attention would be paid to foster visibility of European activities in India. Few years later, the 2001 Asia Strategy also affirmed how 23 the enhancement of mutual awareness between the EU and India would continue to be a priority for the EU. The most recent action that has been undertaken is the India-EU 24 Joint Action Plan, that repeated the need to “make a conscious effort on both sides to

Natalia Chaban, Jessica Bain, Katrina Stats & Paveena Sutthisripok, “Seeing Europe through the Eyes

19

of Others: How ‘Local’ is the EU in Asia-Pacifc News?” Language and Intercultural Communication, 6:3-4, 188-210, 2006.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The Public Attitudes and Images of the European Union in

20

India,” India Quarterly, Vol 68, Issue 4, pp. 331 - 343, First Published January 23, 2013.

L. Fioranti, “Different facets of a strategic partnership: How the EU is viewed by political and business

21

elites, civil societies and the press in India,” European Foreign Affairs Review, 12(3), 349-62.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The Public Attitudes and Images of the European Union in

22

India,” India Quarterly, Vol 68, Issue 4, pp. 331 - 343, First Published January 23, 2013.

European Commission, “EU-India enhanced partnership,” Communication, COM (96), 275 Final, 26

23

June 1996.

European Commission, “Europe and Asia: A strategic framework for enhanced partnership,”

24

Communication, COM (2001), 469 fiNAL, 4 September 2001.

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inform each other’s public opinion, and stressed a constant need to update the media image on both sides.” 25

The most recent study on Indian perceptions about the EU and Europe is that conducted by Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, which dates 2012. After this study nothing more has been presented, which would focus only on Indian perceptions about the EU. Although this last study might seem recent, it does not take into consideration any of the possible shifts that might have happened in the last few years, considering also that important events have happened, such as for example ‘Brexit’, which could have changed the way India looks at the EU now. For this reason, this thesis becomes relevant, and will add some new insights on the way India looks at the EU now, in recent time. In order to study the public opinion of the EU in India, this research will focus on the analysis of print Indian mass media and on the analysis of interviews conducted with Indian people. The reasons why this thesis will study Indian newspapers, and the way they portray and depict the EU, is because “the news media is, in most cases, the only point of contact that the general public have with foreign people, lands and events,” and it has been demonstrated by many scholars and by many 26 relevant researches that public opinion on foreign policy is often led by news media. 27

India-EU Joint Action Plan, http://bit.ly/2zWT0LM , accessed May 7, 2018.

25

Natalia Chaban, Jessica Bain, Katrina Stats & Paveena Sutthisripok, “Seeing Europe through the Eyes

26

of Others: How ‘Local’ is the EU in Asia-Pacifc News?” Language and Intercultural Communication, 6:3-4, 188-210, 2006.

D. K. Perry, “News reading, knowledge about, and attitudes towards foreign countries,” Journalism

27

Quarterly 67(2), 305-327.

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2. Public Opinion

2.1 Definition of public opinion

Before proceeding with the description of the applied methodology for this thesis, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of public opinion and the way public opinion was understood in the context of this research. The concept and definition of public opinion is a very controversial concept to clarify and define. Throughout the years, many researchers, philosophers and writers tried to provide a clear and exhaustive definition of this concept. The origin of the concept of public opinion dates back in the past, and more precisely during the Enlightenment period, as Vincent Price states in his book,

“the concept of public opinion is largely a product of the Enlightenment […] the idea is closely wedded to liberal political philosophies of the late 17th and 18th centuries.” 28 According to the Online Cambridge dictionary, public opinion is “a thought or belief about something or someone; a thought or belief that a group of people have; a judgment about something or someone.” As we can already see from this definition, 29 opinion can be understood as a belief or a thought, and public opinions are simply thoughts or beliefs that are shared not only by a single individual, but also by a larger number of people. But where do these thoughts and beliefs originate from? In order to be able to answer to this question, Walter Lippman and his studies of public opinion become very relevant and important in this context. 30

Although, as previously mentioned, the concept of public opinion did not emerge until the period of the Enlightenment, the two terms public and opinion carried with them the meanings and references used in the past, related somehow always to the contemporary understanding of the the two concepts, where “opinion was used to refer both to rational/cognitive and to non-rational/social processes, […] and public meant of the people.” Two important scholars whose contribution is very relevant in the field 31 and studying of the concept of public opinion are the German sociologist Ferdinand

Vincent Price, Public Opinion, Communication Concepts, 4 (Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1992).

28

Cambridge Online Dictionary, http://bit.ly/2yBtb2J, accessed May 8, 2018.

29

Walter Lippmann, Public opinion, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1992).

30

Vincent Price, Public Opinion, Communication Concepts, 4 (Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1992).

31

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Tönnies and the social theorist Jürgen Habermas. According to the first one, public opinion “has the equivalent social function in societies which religion has in communities,” providing us with a definition and explanation of what public opinion 32 is, whereas the second scholar helps us to better understand where public opinion originates when individual come together to discuss, debate and argue about social problems. Another important scholar that is worth citing to better understand the 33 concept of public opinion is the American sociologist Herbet Blumer. He contributed in the process of understanding and defining the term public opinion affirming that public opinion is a form of collective behaviour, which originates when people are discussing on a given public issue. 34

When it comes to public opinion, one of the most important author, scholar and research that has to be taken into consideration, because of his work, which intensively contributed to the studying of the concept of public opinion is Walter Lippmann.

According to Lippmann’s book, public opinion is based not on direct and certain knowledge, but on pictures made by us or given to us. The detailed descriptions of the 35 cognitive limitations people face in comprehending their sociopolitical and cultural environments lead them to apply an evolving catalogue of general stereotypes to a complex reality. The idea and the public opinion of the EU becomes therefore a stereotype, based on pictures already made and given to people. As Walter Lippmann observes in his book Public Opinion, “the only feeling that anyone can have about an event he does not experience is the feeling aroused by his mental image of that event.” 36 Lippmann defines stereotype as a “distorted picture or image in a person’s mind, not based on personal experience, but derived culturally.” Lippmann reasons that the 37 formation of stereotypes is driven by social, political, and economic motivations, and,

Ferdinand Tönnies, On Public Opinion, Kritik der öffentlichen Meinung, critical edition by Alexander

32

Deichsel, Rolf Fechner, and Rainer Waßner, (Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2003).

Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, (Strukturwandel der

33

Öffentlichkeit, Neuwied 1962).

Herbert Blumer, and EBSCO Publishing (Firm), Human Nature and Collective Behavior: Papers in

34

Honor of Herbert Blumer, Edited by Tamotsu Shibutani, Englewood-Cliffs, (N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2004).

Walter Lippmann, Public opinion, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1992).

35

Walter Lippmann, Public opinion, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1992).

36

Ibid.

37

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as they are passed from one generation to the next one, they can become quite pervasive and resistant to change. This thesis work will be therefore based on this theory and understanding of public opinion, which remains one of the most clear, important and essential definition.

2.2 Relevance of studying the public opinion

We can understand why it is important to study public opinion starting exactly from Walter Lippmann’s definition and understanding. As stated in the previous chapter, public opinion is a gathering of individual opinions; many people, such as “researchers, journalists, policymakers, and citizens think of public opinion as the simple sum of many individual opinions,” and for this reason it is obvious why we need to study it. 38 Analyzing public opinion can help to delineate what people think about a specific topic and for measuring the public mood about a specific issue or fact.

It is also very clear at this point as the concept of public opinion is connected and intertwined with politics and the process of policy making. Public opinion is in fact a key element to be considered when dealing with politics or policy making. A good politician would always try to understand what is the public opinion of people to gain the approval and the consensus from it to rule or to win the elections. But public opinion is also very important when trying to understand what are the problems, the needs and the issues in society or in a country. If we want to have a closer look and understanding at society and its facets, it is crucial to analyze the public opinion to gain more knowledge and insights from a different and more realistic perspective, in fact “public opinion on policy and social issues can offer crucial insights into larger currents in culture.” As stated in the quotation, public opinion can also reveal and offer new 39 insights and information about culture and identity, which is exactly the reason why sometimes public opinion is studied and analyzed with a lot of different surveys and statistic analysis by many researchers and institutions. In this framework, also the EU is playing its role in trying to understand what is the culture and opinion that is rising around it, by creating several surveys that are executed all around the world.

Carroll Glynn, Robert J, ShapiroY, Garrett J O'Keefe, Mark Lindeman, and Susan Herbst, Public

38

Opinion, (Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2015).

Ibid.

39

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It is obvious at this point why studying the public opinion of the EU is important, especially outside Europe. In this time of uncertainty, unpredictability and confusion about the future of the EU, the goals and objectives of this international organization, and also about the meaning of being European and European identity, it is important to consider and to look at what people think, see and perceive, to have a deeper and better understanding of the problem. As stated by three important researchers in one of their studying about the perception and public opinion of the EU outside Europe, “it is clear that the EU needs to rethink how it is being perceived […]

what should be equally as important is how the EU is understood and seen from beyond its borders.” It is only by studying and determining how people from outside look at it 40 that such “knowledge may help to more clearly identify and define Europe for itself in this period of reflection.” 41

To conclude, the reason why studying public opinion is still relevant and important for the purposes of this research is because is still valid for foreign policies, to make decisions, and because it offers more chances of comprehension, especially in a context where Asia, and this especially includes India, is very sensitive about EU norms, legacies, and civilization.

2.3 Mass Media and Public Opinion

It is nowadays almost indisputable that mass media have the power and capability to shape and influence public opinion all around the world. When we refer to the word mass media, we intend not only the print media, such as newspapers, magazines, flyers or brochures, but also the online or soft media, including also social media. All this means have the power to convey messages, meanings and content that have always some effects on its receivers. As two important researchers, such as Carey and Burton, stated in their essays, “the media have the potential to influence public opinion in a variety of ways and a great amount of research.” Many people are 42

Martin Holland, Peter Ryan, Alojzy Z. Nowak and Natalia Chaban, The EU through the Eyes of Asia.

40

Vol. [vol. I], : Media, Public and Elite Perceptions in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, (Warsaw: WWZ, 2007).

Ibid.

41

S. Carey & J. Burton, Research note: The influence of the press in shaping public opinion towards the

42

European identity in Britain, Political Studies, 52(3), 623-640, 2004.

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everyday influenced in their opinions and thoughts by media, and we can say that “mass media, such as newspapers, radio stations, television networks and websites, present much of the information that people incorporate into their opinions.” 43

In this way, mass media becomes a very powerful and strong instrument that politicians, influencers or journalists can use to influence and brainwash their audience to convince them about something or to manipulate their opinions. In different ways and at different times, “governments, corporations, other private organizations and political candidates mount campaigns -via the mass media and by other means- to convey their messages or advance their candidacies.” According to American scholar Vicent Price, 44 who studied public opinion and and communication concepts, “liberty depends on freedom of the press […] and dynamics of democracy are intimately linked to the practices of communication, and societal communication increasingly takes place within the mass media.” An example of this can be Russia, where there is currently a 45 democracy, that is technically called Electoral Democracy. This is a system in which the people vote and the vote is free, but what is missing is the competition. The press is not free, and so during the elections, there are no civic, political and civil rights so the opposition does not have the possibility to make any campaign, and in this way the citizens can only listen to the ideas and opinions of one party, that will always win the elections. 46

If we analyze the functions of mass media, we can say that there are mainly three functions, such as surveillance, correlation and transmission. The first function 47 called surveillance, or monitoring, is used to monitor “events in the environment, especially those that may threaten the common good […], media had come to play a central role in this function, idealized as the ‘whatchdog’ role.” The second function 48

Glynn, Carroll J, Robert Y Shapiro, Garrett J O'Keefe, Mark Lindeman, and Susan Herbst, Public

43

Opinion, (Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2015).

Ibid.

44

Vincent Price, Public Opinion, Communication Concepts, 4 (Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1992).

45

Arend Lijphart, Thinking about Democracy, Power sharing and majority rule in theory and practice,

46

(London: Routledge, 2008).

Glynn, Carroll J, Robert Y Shapiro, Garrett J O'Keefe, Mark Lindeman, and Susan Herbst, Public

47

Opinion, (Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2015).

Glynn, Carroll J, Robert Y Shapiro, Garrett J O'Keefe, Mark Lindeman, and Susan Herbst, Public

48

Opinion, (Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2015).

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named correlation “is to inform us of how others are reacting to events and thinking about various topics” , whereas the third function, called transmission, is “the passing 49 of the norms and morals of the culture to others entering the social system, especially the young.” It is evident from this analysis of the functions of media, that beside the 50 pure function of spreading news, informing people about certain events or facts, there are other functions that do play an important role in conveying information or events to their audience, shaping, modelling, and building in the audience opinions, ideas and thoughts. Walter Lippman in fact said that “media plays a central role in shaping our perspectives […] and people rely on indirect representations of their environments” 51 and in this, media efficiently provide those pictures and images.

The main process that are used by media to shape and influence public opinion are agenda-setting, framing and priming. The agenda-setting “refers to journalists’ 52 decisions regarding the newsworthiness of particular events or issues. This relates to the (commercial) news values of issues.” According to the second process instead, called 53 framing, “the characterization of an issue, an event or an actor by the media influences the audience’s understanding of the subject.” The last process is related to the previous 54 and most of the times are used together. This process in fact is able to “influencing the standard by which individuals evaluate objects or issued […] because individuals use information that has been most recently activated.” By setting the agenda and framing 55 the news and events in such a way, deciding to give more relevance and importance to some facts rather than others through the process of priming, the receivers of those information will evaluate, consider and interpret all the new information not in a free

Glynn, Carroll J, Robert Y Shapiro, Garrett J O'Keefe, Mark Lindeman, and Susan Herbst, Public

49

Opinion, (Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2015).

Ibid.

50

Walter Lippmann, Public opinion, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1992).

51

M. Jürgen & B. Ritterger, Shifting Europe’s Boundaries: Mass media, public opinion and the

52

enlargement of the EU, European politics 9(2), 243-267, 2008.

Vasiliki Triga and Konstantinos Vadratsikas, The Impact of Media Representations of the EU and its

53

Policies on European Identity, COHESIFY research paper, COHESIFY PACKAGE 4 – TASK4.1:

OUTPUT 4.1, Department of Communication and Internet Studies Cyprus University of Technology.

M. Jürgen & B. Ritterger, Shifting Europe’s Boundaries: Mass media, public opinion and the

54

enlargement of the EU, European politics 9(2), 243-267, 2008.

Ibid.

55

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way, how apparently we think, but in a way that had already been decided for us. This is the power that media have gained nowadays in our society, and that is used more and more to influence and shape people’s minds.

2.4 Public opinion of the European Union inside and outside Europe

Understanding how the EU is perceived and seen by people is one of the most important aspect that the EU is always taking into consideration, especially at a global level, both inside and outside Europe. The EU is very interested in understanding and analyzing public opinion of the EU inside Europe because it is the only way the EU has to monitor different aspects related to the European integration process, to life standard, economy, politics to democracy. The European Commission is funding in fact a lot of surveys and researches to try to understand each year how public opinion of people living in the member states of the EU is shifting. The most used mean to investigate this is through EuroBarometer surveys, that are conducted all over Europe, about different topics and issues, to gather useful information about people’s perceptions and opinion on different issues and topics. In this context, EuroBarometer becomes a very important and relevant tool, because it has been used during the last forty years as a tool to monitor public opinion in the EU member states on a regular basis, and also to help reveal Europeans to each other. The EuroBarometer is in fact “a series of surveys conducted twice yearly since 1973 across all the member countries of the EU.” 56 Moreover, the value and importance of the EuroBarometer is very high, due to the fact that “the EuroBarometer measures the European population’s attitudes about various issues related to Europe […] through surveys, which are conducted twice a year, and generate a large quantity of data.” 57

In a recent survey conducted by the European Parliament on the public opinion in Europe about the EU, it is stated that “opinions matter, […] and listening to these

Martin Höpner, and Bojan Jurczyk, How the Eurobarometer Blurs the Line between Research and

56

Propaganda. Mpifg Discussion Paper, 15/6, (Köln: Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung, 2015).

S. Nissen,“The Eurobarometer and the Process of European Integration: Methodological Foundations

57

and Weaknesses of the Largest European Survey,” Quality and Quantity 48 (2): 713–27, 2014.

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opinions and understanding them in their variety is paramount.” In this way, the 58 European Parliament continues to monitor the European citizens’ opinions on the EU membership and its benefits, on the issue of the European identity, and on any other possible fields of interest and curiosity of the EU. Consulting public opinion and keeping monitored the shifts and changes in people’s public opinion about the EU is a way that the EU itself has to understand what might be the current problems and challenges that need to be faced and dealt with. In all these years, one of the most important mission of the EU has been that of creating, building and shaping European identity among its citizens and member states. Many different projects and initiatives has been funded and approved to foster this important process all over Europe. Example of this can be the Erasmus program that with its 30 years of existence played an important role and contribution in the creation of a European identity. Monitoring the effects and the results of such program, through surveys and polls, is essential and paramount for the EU, to investigate how public opinion of those people who were involved and had the possibility to participate in the program changed after their participation.

For the EU, as already mentioned in the previous chapters, it is not only important the public opinion of people living inside Europe, but also the public opinion of people living outside Europe, all over the world. Every years, beside the internal surveys and polls that are created to monitor the public opinion of people living in the the member states of the EU, many other surveys and polls are created to see and study what is the public opinion of the EU outside Europe. Studying how the EU is perceived, understood and seen outside Europe “was listed by the European Commission as one of the its recent priorities.” But this is not the only reason why public opinion of 59 outsiders of Europe is interested for the EU. It is generally accepted among academic observers and scholars that the EU is “a major power and leading actor in international

Parlameter 2017, A stronger voice, Citizens’ views on Parliament and the EU, STUDY - Public Opinion

58

Monitoring Series Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament Directorate-General for Communication Public Opinion Monitoring Unit, October 2017 - PE 608.741, accessed May, 13 2018, https://bit.ly/2zlAPhh.

Martin Holland, Peter Ryan, Alojzy Z. Nowak and Natalia Chaban, The Eu through the Eyes of Asia.

59

Vol. [vol. I], : Media, Public and Elite Perceptions in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, (Warsaw: WWZ, 2007).

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trade negotiations.” According to Meunier and Nicolaïdis, “if there is any area in 60 which the EU has become an uncontested power in the international system, it is clearly in the field of trade policy.” This being said, it is evident why the EU is interested in 61 the outsiders’ perceptions, and that is mainly for three reasons. First of all, outsiders’

perceptions and opinions are a source of knowledge “to gain information about the objectives, capabilities and implementation of EU external policy” in order to 62 understand and see how the EU is viewed and judged as an international actor.

Secondly, outsiders’ views and opinions about the EU help to shape EU identity and roles, because “third party understandings about the EU and its roles from a part of the intersubjective international structures that help shape the practices of both member states and the EU as such.” In this context, another reason of why studying and 63 investigating public opinion of outsiders becomes relevant and important for the EU, and that has recently also drawn the attention of some researchers, is the “relationship between political identity and external images, […] evaluating how outsiders’

perceptions influence the self-representation processes within an actor.” Thirdly, 64 because “the impact of EU external policies may to a certain degree depend on how other relevant actors evaluate these policies.” In this framework, the tendency to 65 follow EU policies increases if the these policies are perceived internationally as reliable, coherent and consistent. 66

Ole Elgström, “Outsiders’ Perceptions of the European Union in International Trade Negotiations,”

60

Journal of Common Market Studies Vol. 45, No. 4, P. 949-967, 2007.

S. Meunier and K. Nicolaïdis, “The European Union as a Trade Power”, in Hill, C. and Smith, M. (eds)

61

International Relations and the European Union, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).

Ole Elgström, “Outsiders’ Perceptions of the European Union in International Trade Negotiations.”

62

Journal of Common Market Studies Vol. 45, No. 4, P. 949-967, 2007.

C. Bretherton, and J. Vogler, The European Union as a Global Actor (London: Routledge, 1999).

63

S. Lucarelli, “The International Image of the EU: How Is the EU Perceived Outside Its Borders?”

64

Section proposal to ECPR General Conference, Pisa, 6–8 September, 2007.

Ole Elgström, “Outsiders’ Perceptions of the European Union in International Trade Negotiations.”

65

Journal of Common Market Studies Vol. 45, No. 4, P. 949-967, 2007.

Ibid.

66

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To conclude, as Carolyn Rhodes mentioned in one of her research, “paying attention to how the EU is viewed abroad helps to evaluate whether gaps between expectations and realities have affected the ‘reach’ of the EU influence.” 67

2.5 Public opinion of the EU in India

If we look at the most recent surveys about EU perceptions, opinions, views and images outside Europe, India has always been involved and included in the research.

The reasons why India has become lately a very interesting actor to study and observe is mainly due to two reasons. First of all, India represents today one of the largest and increasing economy in the world, and is expanding rapidly, because of its population, which is around 1.3 billion people. Secondly, due to its fast economic growth, India is 68 able to attract a good number of foreign investments, and last, from a political level, India has a new global role that “has been acknowledged by all major powers and symbolically enshrined in its strategic partnerships with the US and Russia.” 69

Already from this introduction, it is possible to understand why the EU is interested in depicting Indian opinion about the EU. For this reason, several studies and researches have been conducted in the past years aimed to examine how the EU was perceived by Indian people, analyzing both printed news versions, such as newspapers, and also conducting interviews. Among the most famous and reliable studies, it is worth mentioning the studies of Natalia Chaban, Martin Holland and M. Rajendra. These scholars tried to depict and offer a picture of how the EU is perceived and viewed in India by people, analyzing also in which way media shape and portray the EU in India, playing a role in the creation of a public awareness of the EU in India.

From these studies, one of the common result and finding is that EU’s visibility and therefore opinion and perception of the EU in India are not very clear, and sometimes are very confused and weak, because “of the fact that major EU member

C. Rhodes, “Introduction: The Identity of the European Union in International Affairs,” in Rhodes, C.

67

(ed.), The European Union in the World Community, (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1998).

L. Fioramonti, “Different Facets of a Strategic Partnership How the Eu Is Viewed by Political and

68

Business Elites, Civil Society and the Press in India,” European Foreign Affairs Review 12 (3): 349–62, 2007.

L. Fioramonti, “Different Facets of a Strategic Partnership How the Eu Is Viewed by Political and

69

Business Elites, Civil Society and the Press in India,” European Foreign Affairs Review 12 (3): 349–62, 2007.

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states, like the UK, France and Germany, have substantial bilateral relations with India, even in areas where common European policies are agreed.” Another important aspect 70 that has to be taken into consideration when dealing with public opinion and perceptions of the EU in India is the fact that “perceptions of the EU have been and continue to be essentially conditioned by the Anglo-Saxon media.” This does not allow people to 71 develop a more free and deeper understanding of the EU, of the processes and dynamics that characterize the EU and its integration, as well as the role of its institutions and policies.

Overall, by looking at the results of the main researches, perceptions and public opinion of the EU in India are quite positive and optimistic, rather than pessimistic and negative. People perceive the EU as an important global leader and actor, whose example and policies should be followed and imitated. The EU represents the first example in the world that was able to achieve and create a strong coalition and union of member states, and to go very far in the process of integration, both economically, socially and politically speaking. Improving the visibility of the EU in India “has been a constant theme in periodic EU Communications and other documents on India since the mid-1990s.” In 1996 a specific strategy was released on ‘EU-India Enhanced 72 Partnership’, declaring that “particular attention would be paid to improving the visibility of European activities in India.” The most recent action plan that was created 73 to foster this partnership and to increase both visibilities of the EU and India, was the India-EU Joint Action Plan in 2005, which “reiterated the need to make a conscious effort on both sides to inform each other’s public opinion, and to stress a constant need to update the media image on both sides.” From all these measures and actions, that 74 throughout these years have been implemented and undertaken by the EU, it is evident

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: A Partnership for All Reasons,” India

70

Quarterly 65 (4): 393–404, 2009.

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: Perceptions and policies,” Asia-Europe

71

Institute, University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 19 June 2009.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The Public Attitudes and Images of the European Union in

72

India,” India Quarterly, Vol 68, Issue 4, pp. 331 - 343, First Published January 23, 2013.

European Commission, Communication, EU-India enhanced partnership, COM(96) 275 final, 26 June,

73

1996.

India-EU Joint Action Plan (September 7, 2005), accessed May 13, 2018 http://eeas.europa.eu/

74

delegations/.

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how the public opinion of Indian people about the EU in India is a very important issue that has always attracted the EU.

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3. India and the European Union: brief historical overview

The relationships between India and the EU date back to last century, and more precisely in the ‘60s, when “India became one of the first countries to establish direct diplomatic relations with the then European Economic Community (EEC).” This 75 direct relations with the EEC were not understood in substitution or in replacement with the other bilateral agreements and relations with the single member states, such as Germany, France, Italy and Benelux. After the second world war and the beginning of the cold war, the example of the EU and the reconstruction of peace, stability and prosperity in Europe, was seen as an admirable achievement by India, that started to see in the EU as possible strong and valid partner, especially from a trade and economic point of view.

When dealing with the history between India and the EU, it is essential to consider and keeping in mind the colonial past and history of the former. For this reason, after this initial interest in the EEC and admiration for this great project and achievement in Europe, India started to become more suspicious and reluctant when the UK proclaimed the possibility of a future admission into the union. Being an old British colony and part of the Commonwealth, India saw the possibility for the UK to join the European community as a threat for its economy and its markets. India, throughout the 76 years from 1960 to the final annexation of the UK in the EU, appeared resistant to this decision, and, in order to assure for itself a safer and stronger position in the future international relations with the EU and the UK, tried to create the Commercial Cooperation Agreement (CCA). This agreement was then signed, changed, revisited, 77 modified and extended many times in the following years, changing shape and form.

After the admission of the UK in the EU in 1973, India understood that the next move should have been that of “developing a new relationship with the European

L. Fioramonti, “Different Facets of a Strategic Partnership How the Eu Is Viewed by Political and

75

Business Elites, Civil Society and the Press in India,” European Foreign Affairs Review 12 (3): 349–62, 2007.

Pascaline Winand, Marika Vicziany, and Poonam Datar, The European Union and India Rhetoric or

76

Meaningful Partnership?, (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2014).

Ibid.

77

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grouping.” Therefore, in 1980 India created the India-EEC Trade Centre, to foster 78 exports between the two entities. Since then, many different steps have been taken in 79 order to create stable and enduring relations, both in economic and political terms, even though the relations remained largely based on trades. The first EU-India Political Summit was held in Lisbon in 2000, and “marked a watershed, as it helped this relationship to evolve from an exclusive focus on trade and financial issues to one with more political cooperation.” Since the first Summit, both partners decided to hold 80 annual summits to foster and increase their cooperation, and these efforts culminated in the creation of the Strategic Partnership (SP), presented during the fifth EU-India Summit in The Hague in 2004. 81

The 2004 SP represents a milestone in the creation of EU-India economic and political relations. The reason behind the creation of this SP were more economic than political. India was in fact emerging as the major investor in the EU, and was starting to become one of the largest and most important economy in the world, which interested and attracted a lot the EU, whereas the EU was one of the largest source of foreign direct investment for India. Another important event in the history of India-EU 82 relations is the Joint Action Plan (JAP), adopted in 2005 and subsequently in 2008, which represented “an agreed measure of progress, a mechanism for coordination and a spur to stronger cooperation.” 83

Besides all these attempts to create a closer collaboration, cooperation and development for both India and the EU in the past, from an economic, financial, political and social point of view, the recent scenario appears to be resolute and has been developing very steadily. This year, the EU and India are celebrating 55 years of

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: A Partnership for All Reasons,” India

78

Quarterly 65 (4): 393–404, 2009.

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: A Partnership for All Reasons,” India

79

Quarterly 65 (4): 393–404, 2009.

L. Fioramonti, “Different Facets of a Strategic Partnership How the Eu Is Viewed by Political and

80

Business Elites, Civil Society and the Press in India,” European Foreign Affairs Review 12 (3): 349–62, 2007.

Ibid.

81

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: A Partnership for All Reasons,” India

82

Quarterly 65 (4): 393–404, 2009.

Ibid.

83

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diplomatic relations, and in this context, during the last summit between India and the EU in 2016, the two respective leaders “endorsed the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020, a roadmap with practical actions for the next five years covering political, security, human rights and global issues.” As far as the future perspectives are concerned, India 84 and the EU seem to be on the right path and seem to get along deeply. Europe in fact still believes in the importance of fostering any possible cooperation and collaboration with India, because as clearly stated by M. Abhyankar Rajendra, the EU “should increasingly think and cooperate with emerging powers and other key countries in the construction of a new international system,” and on the other side, emerging powers, 85 such as India “need to be made full partners in the writing of new rules for institutions in a rapidly changing world.” 86

EU External Action, “EU-India relations, fact sheet,” accessed May13, 2018, https://bit.ly/2IgR4RL.

84

M. Abhyankar Rajendra, “India and the European Union: A Partnership for All Reasons,” India

85

Quarterly 65 (4): 393–404, 2009.

Ibid.

86

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4. Methodological framework

4.1 Method and Theory

In order to answer to the research question of this thesis, such as what is the public opinion about the EU in India, this thesis used a case study method, focusing on the analysis of the public opinion of the EU of just one country, such as India. The reason why the case study method has been chosen for this thesis is due to the fact that it would have been time consuming to analyze what are the perceptions and opinions related to the EU globally and worldwide. The need for a case study method at this point seems obvious and justified. The country that has been chosen as the object of analysis for this thesis and for the case study is India. The reason why India has been chosen to become the object of this case study is mainly related to three factors. First of all, India is one of the country that took part in the recent EuroBarometer survey, where it was showed how the EU was perceived in a positive way. No more in-depth analysis has been conducted on seeing how actually and concretely the EU is perceived in this country. Secondly, having spent the third semester of my master degree in India, conducting a research track, made me personally interested in studying the perceptions and the public opinion of Indian people about the EU. Thirdly, India is one of the most powerful developing country in the world. In fact, with a population of 1.2 billion people, and an internal GDP that is believed to become one of the strongest one before 2050, India becomes an ideal and essential object of study for the EU. India was also one of the first country to 87 recognize the importance of the new born EU, and was also one of the first developing country to be willing to establish diplomatic relations with it. For this reason, it 88 becomes interesting to see how the perceptions of the EU have changed throughout the years, and how it is still perceived nowadays.

To investigate what is the public opinion about the EU in India, two methods were used in order to collect data. Firstly, this thesis looked at the way mass media in India, such as newspapers, are representing and conveying the EU to their audience.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The Public Attitudes and Images of the European Union in

87

India,” India Quarterly, Vol 68, Issue 4, pp. 331 - 343, First Published January 23, 2013.

Rajendra Kumar Jain and Shreya Pandey, “The European Union in the Eyes of India,” Asia Europe

88

Journal: Intercultural Studies in the Social Sciences and Humanities 8, no. 2: 193-209, 2010.

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