A Dataset on 'Social media and India’s Foreign Policy: The Case Study of ‘X’ Diplomacy during the Covid-19 Pandemic'

Social media platforms have become integral tools in the conduct of foreign policy for many nations, including India. This dataset serves as a resource for analyzing ‘Social Media and India’s Foreign Policy: The Case Study of ‘X’ Diplomacy during the Covid-19 Pandemic.’ The data were collected through a web-based questionnaire distributed primarily to people aged 18 – 61 and above in India. A total of 171 valid data were collected from 17 states offering extensive geographic coverage and stored in Mendeley. The 15 contributor states are Goa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Assam, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It encompasses diverse question formats, including single-choice, multiple-choice, quizzes, and open-ended. The study underscores the opportunities and challenges of employing 'X' diplomacy in India's foreign policy. Thus, there were two hypotheses. First, India's effective use of 'X' diplomacy positively impacts public perception of India's foreign policy effectiveness. Second, India's adept use of 'X' diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic enhances its ability to manage and respond to the crisis effectively. This data shows public perception of the effective use of social media by the Government of India, particularly in the crisis situation. Data also highlight the significant change in India’s narrative through its ‘X’ diplomacy, effectively setting the narratives, public perceptions, and diplomatic strategies. This data can be fully utilized in the study of the significance of social media in India’s foreign policy, the role of social media like ‘X’ in the making of India’s foreign policy, how effective social media like ‘X’ was during the Covid-19 pandemic and how Indian government utilized social media like ‘X’ to delivered messages and to set the narrative in the international politics.社交媒体平台已成为包括印度在内的诸多国家开展外交政策工作的不可或缺的工具。本数据集为分析《社交媒体与印度外交政策：新冠疫情期间的‘X’外交案例研究》提供了支撑资源。本次数据通过基于网页的问卷收集，主要面向印度18岁至61岁及以上人群发放。最终从覆盖广泛地理范围的17个邦中共回收有效样本171份，数据存储于Mendeley平台。其中贡献数据的15个邦分别为果阿邦、马哈拉施特拉邦、泰米尔纳德邦、古吉拉特邦、德里、阿萨姆邦、哈里亚纳邦、查谟和克什米尔邦、卡纳塔克邦、喀拉拉邦、旁遮普邦、拉贾斯坦邦、特里普拉邦、北方邦以及西孟加拉邦。问卷涵盖多种题型，包括单选题、多选题、测验题以及开放式问答题。本研究凸显了在印度外交政策中运用‘X’外交所面临的机遇与挑战，据此提出两项研究假设：其一，印度对‘X’外交的有效运用，可正向提升公众对印度外交政策有效性的认知；其二，印度在新冠疫情期间娴熟运用‘X’外交，可强化其高效管控与应对危机的能力。本数据集呈现了公众对印度政府有效运用社交媒体的认知，尤其是在危机情境下的相关看法。数据同时凸显了印度通过‘X’外交所实现的叙事范式重大转变，可有效塑造叙事方向、引导公众认知并优化外交战略。本数据集可广泛应用于多项相关研究：包括社交媒体在印度外交政策中的重要性、‘X’类社交媒体在印度外交政策制定中的作用、新冠疫情期间‘X’类社交媒体的实际效能，以及印度政府如何借助‘X’类社交媒体传递讯息、在国际政治中构建叙事框架。