Kontinuiteten av bilaterala relationer : En förklarande studie om kontinuiteten i EU-Indien relationerna trots aktörernas skilda positioneringar

Sammanfattning: This study explores the bilateral relationship between the European Union (EU) and India amidst the critical juncture that has been the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. The study was motivated by the simultaneous empirical and theoretical puzzle that was theseemingly continuous development of bilateral relations, albeit the differing positions of the EU and India in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Through a content analysis, and a theoretical explanation with the use of two compatible hypotheses derived from Alexander Wendt’s Lockean and Kantian cultures of anarchy, the study analyzed documents, and a sample of statements, speeches and press releases, from the European Commission and India’s Ministry of External Affairs during the period of 2021-02-24 through 2023-11-13. The results of the study suggest that the development of EU-India relations have been characterized by a continuity, albeit the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the actors differing positions thereto. The continuity can, to a greater extent, be explained by the existence and reproduction of shared ideas derived from a Lockean cultural anarchy(hypothesis 1), and to a lesser extent by shared ideas derived from a Kantian cultural anarchy(hypothesis 2), which together however, have constituted the actions of the actors during the period of study, explaining the continuity of the relations. The results both confirm and challenge relevant previous studies, showcasing social structures of relevance using theory.