Introduction: The Evolution of EU Perceptions: From Single Studies to Systematic Research

Abstract

The prolonged and ongoing series of European Union (EU) economic crises would appear to suggest that much of the research on EU politics and foreign policy is in urgent need of revision. This is particularly so regarding the external images of the EU. An understanding of changing perceptions may ‘contribute in important ways to understandings, expectations and practices relating to the EU as a global actor’ (Bretherton and Vogler, 2005, p. 43). It constitutes an important indicator for assessing if and how the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has had a discernible impact on the EU’s influence on the rest of the world — either close or far away from its borders. It is also a ‘reality check’ for the EU’s own vision of its role as an international leader as well as of its status as a recognized power in an increasingly multipolar world. These two elements are linked as the EU’s external image influences its self-image and thus the EU’s behaviour as a global and regional actor. The EU’s external images then become important indicators of how good intentions have been translated into observable actions (Rhodes, 1999). They also serve as sources of knowledge about European identity and the effectiveness of European common foreign policy. In sum, external views of the EU partly shape the EU’s international identity and roles (Elgstrom and Smith, 2006), while the EU’s institutional and policy reality is, in part, shaped in response to Others’ expectations and reactions (Herrberg, 1997).