IAPS fieldwork report - Francesca Silvestri

I have received some funding from the IAPS to conduct my fieldwork in the United States, at the end of February-March 2014. My research project focuses on the evolution of American nuclear policy toward India during the post-Cold War period.

The fieldwork in Washington DC has been fundamental for two reasons. On the one hand, I collected official documents located in American archives and not accessible from the UK and interviewed policymakers and experts directly involved in the rapprochement between the two countries. On the other, I collected material on the Indian lobby and I interviewed key members of the Indian American community (such as of the USINPAC) and of the US business community. These interviews has been useful to develop a better understanding of an important factor in US relations with India that has received limited attention.

Thanks to this experience and the funding received from the IAPS, I had the opportunity to develop a better understanding of my topic, to strengthen my arguments and to acquire data useful to assess the importance of the Indian lobby on US foreign policy toward India.

Francesca Silvestri, PhD student in the School of Politics and International Relations