Kapoor emphasized that policy debates in Switzerland often focus on “classic” autocracies such as China, Russia, Eritrea, or Iran. However, he highlighted that formally democratic countries like India also engage in repressive practices abroad, targeting diaspora communities and scholars, and creating chilling effects on critical research and community life.

With Switzerland strengthening its economic and diplomatic relations with India, for example through the new free trade agreement, Kapoor underlined the importance of paying closer attention to the implications for fundamental rights, research, and diaspora communities in Switzerland.

Shrey Kapoor is a postdoctoral researcher in political science, European Global studies, and South Asian studies, based at the University of Basel and the University of Zurich. He holds a PhD in Development Sociology from Cornell University.