Two closely related datasets from the AEDEUS research context are now available in the Qualiservice catalogue, offering exceptional qualitative data on foreign policy attitudes of German and US-American elites. 

The datasets “ Foreign Policy Attitudes of German Elites.” (AEDE) and “Foreign Policy Attitudes of US-American Elites” (AEUS), compiled by Prof. Kurthen from the Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan (USA), comprise a total of 109 guideline-based expert interview transcripts. They were archived at Qualiservice as part of Prof. Kurthen’s academic legacy within the framework of the specialized information service (FID) Political Science - Pollux as “Use Studies”, making this unique data treasure available for scientific reuse. 

The AEDE dataset (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.972522) includes 72 German-language expert interviews conducted in Berlin in 2011. Interviewees include foreign policy experts and prominent decision-makers from the executive branch, the Bundestag, think tanks, media, and academia. Substantively, the interviews address German foreign policy orientations during the 2011 Libya crisis. Due to the high sensitivity of some interviews, 22 transcripts are available for on-site use only. The AEUS dataset (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.972523) consists of 37 English-language expert interviews conducted in Washington, D.C. in 2017. The study examines elite responses to challenges to the post–Second World War international order during the early phase of the Trump presidency. Three interviews are restricted to on-site use due to sensitivity considerations. In addition to transatlantic relations, both data sets include attitudes toward military restraint, global political trends, alliance commitments, multilateralism, transatlantic relations, and the role of values and norms in foreign policy decision-making.  

Both datasets are accompanied by interview guidelines, anonymisation concepts, and a detailed study report reconstructing the process of data collection, preparation, and curation. Since the original analyses were primarily based on content-summarizing memos, these research data offer considerable potential for secondary reuse with transcript-focused, either coding-based or reconstructive qualitative methods, such as Grounded Theory or the Documentary Method. 

The interviews provide rich material for research in political science, international relations, transatlantic studies, elite research, political sociology, and (contemporary) historical research. Beyond foreign policy positions, they also offer insights into everyday political practice, particularly through interviews with current and former high-ranking policymakers. Altogether, the empirical data from AEDEUS can open up a wide range of new research perspectives.