2019 presents a turning point in how the EU will be perceived globally, balancing renewal against disruption.
Global disruption has become a contemporary EU phenomenon. The trigger of Article 50 created shockwaves that questioned EU solidarity, the direction of integration and the EU鈥檚 effectiveness as a global player. The Trump Presidency has similarly undermined the TransAtlantic consensus on norms and values. Russia has re-emerged as a disruptor for Europe. Together these phenomena fundamentally affect 3rd country expectations of the EU. The EU Global Strategy (EUGS) has become central to balancing these expectations as it seeks to redefine strategic priorities, threats and principles.
Additionally, 2019 provides an opportunity for EU leadership renewal through European Parliament elections and the selection of new Council and Commission Presidents and the High Representative for FASP. How will this 鈥渘ew EU鈥 be viewed internationally?
The Network 鈥撀Renewal versus聽Global Disruption - Asia鈥檚 Expectations of the EU (EXPECT) -聽traces the impact of this new context from the perspective of key EU Asian partners - China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听examines how China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea鈥檚 expectations towards the EU鈥檚 global role are affected by a changing international environment and leadership renewal. How is the implementation of the EUGS perceived externally? Is it effective? How does Brexit, Trump and Russia alter expectations? Can the EU successfully profile its new leadership team in 3rd countries?
惭别迟丑辞诲辞濒辞驳颈肠补濒濒测,听贰齿笔贰颁罢听analyzes Asian press and e-media opinion-making discourses, communications by official and think tanks and views of opinion-shaping elites. It also examines how EU Delegations in Asia communicate EUGS priorities via social media.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听draws on two decades of EU external perceptions research by the National Centre for Reseach on Europe (NCRE).聽贰齿笔贰颁罢鈥檚 innovation is the conceptual evolution from 鈥減erceptions鈥 to 鈥渆xpectations鈥. This intentionally traces how the EU鈥檚 international role is being redefined through聽internal聽(the EUGS and leadership renewal) and聽external聽(the global disruption of Trump, Brexit and Russia) drivers:
- How will expectations towards the EU be constructed in the shadow of Brexit, Trump and Russian disruptions in the 2019-22 period?
- Will the EU鈥檚 new leadership be recognised as a significant change?
- Does the EUGS resonate with Asia鈥檚 key players?
The Asian focus reflects the EUGS ambition to 鈥渄eepen economic diplomacy and scale up our security role in Asia鈥 in light of 鈥渢he economic weight that Asia represents for the EU鈥 鈥 鈥減eace and stability in Asia are a prerequisite for our prosperity鈥 (EUGS 2016).聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听traces Asian expectations towards the EU in the context of the EUGS鈥 emphasis on聽principled pragmatism, governance and resilience. These principles guide the analytical frames used to trace聽the EU鈥檚 communication, recognition and reception in Asia.
Change will be studied in each country and聽comparatively 鈥 across locations and across time聽drawing on the NCRE鈥檚 internationally recognised 鈥淓U Global Perceptions鈥 research undertaken since the Lisbon Treaty ().
贰齿笔贰颁罢听辫谤颈辞谤颈迟颈蝉别蝉听the dialogue between academia and practitioners聽and the聽mentoring of early career researchers聽by leading scholars and practitioners of EU-Asia relations.聽聽 It unites leading academic experts with聽贰齿笔贰颁罢鈥檚聽EU Policy Impact Team聽comprised of media and think tank commentators and EU pracitioners.聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听辞蹿蹿别谤蝉听尘耻濒迟颈诲颈蝉肠颈辫濒颈苍补谤测听expertise in EU external perceptions, CFSP, public diplomacy, media and communication studies.聽 Its research strategy examines:
- Asian official policy and analytical discourses towards the EU;
- EU communications via social media to Asian partners;
- Framing of EU expectations by opinion-making e-media and opinion-shapers;
- EU expectations among EU policy-makers, particularly early career diplomats;
- Policy recommendations to address expectations in the EUGS context.
础听systematic account of EU expectations, reception and recognition by Asian actors聽will equip the EU with聽operational and programming level tools.聽EXPECT聽focuses on:
- the recognised strengths of the EU and EU messages to build on these expectations;
- key audiences which are the most receptive to EU messages;
- protocols to assess effectiveness of EU diplomacy in Asia informed by EUGS; and
- cost-effective initiatives to improve managing EU expectations, communication, recognition and reception.
Objectives
The聽EUGS was launched in difficult times -聽in the immediate aftermath of the UK Referendum, just prior to the election of President Trump and during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
It mapped an path for the EU the context of which has been subsequently disrupted. It confirmed the EU鈥檚 commitment to global order through the norms of human rights, sustainable development and international law and stressed a readiness to 鈥渘ot impose鈥 and to search for mutual understandings beyond EU borders.
The EUGS promises to 鈥渆nhance strategic communications, investing in and joining up public diplomacy across different fields, in order to connect EU foreign policy with citizens and better communicate it to our partners鈥. Expectations were set high and it is incumbent on the new 2019 EU leadership to deliver on these commitments.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听builds knowledge and facilitates best practice by聽contributing to policy debates on global governance and fostering academia-practitioner dialogue.聽
贰齿笔贰颁罢听consolidates practitioners鈥 policy insights and academic excellence by gathering data and producing methodologically rigorous analyses of expectations towards the EU and narratives that reflect EU external relations with Asia.
Renewed leadership opens new opportunities for EU re-branding and policy revision and can address the long-standing 鈥渆xpectations gap鈥.
Informed by EUGS priorities,聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听will help the EU to:
- improve the consistency of external expectations of EU principles and action;
- revise expectations towards EU messages and narratives tailored for diverse Asian societies;
- offer factual information about changing EU contexts;
- work via social media;
- redesign diplomacy to address the dominant EU perceptions in Asia;
- work with local opinion-makers in a culturally-sensitive way to manage expectations towards EU leadership;
- Employ public diplomacy to foster an open media environment for insights into EU-Asian relations;
- trace the evolution of EU expectations to 鈥渄evelop a more politically rounded approach to Asia鈥 (EUGS: 38); and
- establish a baseline of EU expectations in the context of leadership renewal and global disruption.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听gathers systematic data on聽EU recognition in societies marked by growing geopolitical weight聽and builds and exchanges knowledge across priority areas: expectations of the EU as an economic powerhouse; sustainable development, environmental and climate change advocate; an attractive investment, business and innovation hub; an effective security actor; and as a normative power.
Ultimately,聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听facilitates a better understanding of EU global actorness under new leadership thus enhancing the integration process by providing external feedback.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听draws on the experience of two decades of EU perceptions projects conducted in Asia by the National Centre for Research on Europe utilising existing academic collaborations, successful structures, tested methods and theoretical models.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听builds capacity between academics and practitioners from media, think tanks and the EEAS by studying EU external expectations and perceptions; EU global actorness and leadership; and EU-Asian relations. The聽academia-stakeholders axis聽fosters聽innovative research and teaching in EU Studies.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听also brings together a team of established scholars and EU-Asia practitioners to develop a聽new cohort of early-career researchers from the EU and Asia聽to promote sustainability in the fields of EU foreign policy, international identity and public diplomacy.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听will establish mentoring mechanisms to train a new generation of European Integration scholars. These early career researchers will be:
- involved in all stages of data collection and analysis
- individually assigned an academic mentor
- supported in producing academic outputs, integrated into ongoing EU Studies courses and to develop new didactic materials
贰齿笔贰颁罢听will equip聽young researchers with skills and knowledge for effective careers.
Utilising聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听results and methods in designing innovative EU courses will give a distinctive profile to these early career academics. These future leaders will also acquire civic skills, e.g. networking with civil society, media, policy-makers and diplomats; and the design of policy recommendations together with members of 贰齿笔贰颁罢鈥檚 Policy Impact Team.
To guarantee quality and multidisciplinarity,聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听combines leading JM Centres of Excellence in the region with expert teams drawn from 9 universities in Asia and the EU.
It also connects established international JM Chairs with others outside the JM network maximising expertise in relevant 3rd countries.聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听is gender balanced (both for experienced and young academics).
The Policy Impact Team features practitioners (from media, think tanks, EEAS) and scholars of EU-Asia relations to provide policy relevance and focus and establish an聽on-going high-profile dialogue between academia and EU stakeholders.
贰齿笔贰颁罢听is a cohesive professional initiative聽to improve expertise in research and teaching of the EU as a global actor and its dialogue with external partners. It involves authors of the foundational studies in EU perceptions in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as leading scholars of EU-Asia relations, CFSP, Integration, media and image studies.
Drawing on key areas of specialisation,聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听adds academic and civic value by promoting a聽contemporary research agenda聽on EU external expectations聽 and聽high-visiblity policy-academia links in a time of new leadership, global disruption and the EUGS.聽贰齿笔贰颁罢鈥檚 multidisciplinary approach serves as an聽innovative knowledge exchange platform聽to revisit theoretical approaches and methods and establish聽new synergies听产别迟飞别别苍听迟丑别尘.
Media- and elite- focused聽贰齿笔贰颁罢听analysis maps:
- differing expectations towards the EU鈥檚 renewed leadership and the consequences of global disruption among opinion-making audiences and e-media discourses in Asia;
- successful EU social media strategies;
- potential local partners, including opinion-shapers, open to cooperation with the EU;
- topics where the EU could exercise the most impact; and
- regional vs. global trends and opportunities for the EU鈥檚 new leadership to reconceptualise its public diplomacy and recalibrate the EU鈥檚 credibility and better manage expectations.
贰齿笔贰颁罢鈥檚聽multidisciplinary reflections聽facilitate an understanding of the EU鈥檚 new leadership and changing international role as challenged by global disruption, aims to influence behaviour and expectations amongst key audiences and serves as a reference for future EU policies towards Asia.
This contemporary research聽informs current and future EU teaching and promotes teaching innovations in EU Studies that are research and evidence-based.
Outcomes
EXPECT workshops 2022
2023 EXPECT grant findings
