JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

Their core work

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is one of India's leading public research universities, internationally recognised for its work in the social sciences, political theory, area studies and governance research. Within H2020 the university has served as a non-European partner in Marie Skłodowska-Curie training and exchange networks, contributing scholarly expertise on South and Central Asian politics, comparative democracy and local government. Their value to European consortia is as a gateway to Indian and wider Asian research perspectives — hosting seconded researchers, co-supervising doctoral candidates and providing regional fieldwork access.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 engagement (2015-2018) JNU contributed regional expertise on the Caspian, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and Iran, framed around development and international cooperation. From 2018 onward their contributions shifted toward more theoretical and comparative political science — concepts like nationalism, democracy, secularism and citizenship — and then toward applied governance research on local government, urban-rural dynamics and intergovernmental relations. The trajectory moves from area studies toward comparative governance and political theory.

JNU is positioning itself as a non-European anchor for comparative political and governance research, useful for consortia that need Indian/Asian empirical grounding on democracy, local government or political concepts.

How they like to work

JNU joins H2020 exclusively as a third-party partner in Marie Skłodowska-Curie networks — they do not coordinate, but they participate as substantive contributors in reasonably large international consortia. Across three projects they have worked with 59 distinct partners in 31 countries, suggesting a hub-like profile where JNU is the recurring Indian node rather than a partner loyal to one European group. Expect them to host seconded researchers, co-supervise doctoral candidates, and open access to Indian/Asian case study sites.

Highly international network of 59 partners across 31 countries, spanning European universities and non-European institutions in the Caspian, Central Asian and South Asian regions. Geographic focus mixes EU research partners with JNU's natural reach into Asian area studies.

What sets them apart

JNU offers something most European partners cannot: a high-reputation Indian university with genuine research depth on South Asian, Central Asian and Caspian politics, combined with theoretical strength in comparative political science. For a consortium that needs an Indian or wider-Asian partner on democracy, governance or development topics, JNU is a natural fit. As a third-party participant rather than a coordinator, they complement EU-led projects rather than competing to run them.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LoGov
  MSCA-RISE project (2019-2024) on local government and urban-rural interplay — directly relevant to comparative governance research with clear policy application.
• POLITICO
  MSCA-COFUND doctoral programme (2018-2023) on political concepts worldwide, positioning JNU as a global reference point for comparative political theory.
• CASPIAN
  MSCA-ITN (2015-2018) doctoral training on the Caspian region — rare EU-funded network where JNU's area expertise on Central Asia, Iran and Russia was central.