Introduction: emotion(al) norms in EUropean foreign policy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This Special Issue examines the nexus between emotions and norms in EUropean foreign policy. Theoretically, building on the existing IR-literature on emotions, the Special Issue distinguishes between “emotion norms” (which refer to the appropriate emotional expressions) and “emotional norms” (which refer to the norms that trigger emotional responses). Empirically, the Issue illustrates the different ways in which emotion(al) norms are used at different levels of EUropean foreign policy, i.e. EU, state and subnational levels. The collection of articles aspires to study the ways in which emotions shape the EU’s external relations focusing on the actors (who mobilize emotions, who are constrained or contested by emotion(al) norms), processes (through which various feelings are produced internally or transmitted externally) and the content of norms linked to emotions. Methodologically, this Special Issue illustrates how emotion(al) norms can be studied through the use of different discourse methods.