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 EUs 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 new EU be viewed internationally?
The Network Renewal versusGlobal Disruption - Asias Expectations of the EU (EXPECT) -traces the impact of this new context from the perspective of key EU Asian partners - China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭examines how China, Indonesia, Japan and Koreas expectations towards the EUs 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?
紼梗喧堯棗餃棗梭棗眶勳釵硃梭梭聆,泭楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭draws on two decades of EU external perceptions research by the National Centre for Reseach on Europe (NCRE).楚喘捩楚唬啦s innovation is the conceptual evolution from perceptions to expectations. This intentionally traces how the EUs international role is being redefined throughinternal(the EUGS and leadership renewal) andexternal(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 EUs new leadership be recognised as a significant change?
- Does the EUGS resonate with Asias key players?
The Asian focus reflects the EUGS ambition to deepen economic diplomacy and scale up our security role in Asia in light of the economic weight that Asia represents for the EU peace and stability in Asia are a prerequisite for our prosperity (EUGS 2016).楚喘捩楚唬啦泭traces Asian expectations towards the EU in the context of the EUGS emphasis onprincipled pragmatism, governance and resilience. These principles guide the analytical frames used to tracethe EUs communication, recognition and reception in Asia.
Change will be studied in each country andcomparatively across locations and across timedrawing on the NCREs internationally recognised EU Global Perceptions research undertaken since the Lisbon Treaty ().
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭梯娶勳棗娶勳喧勳莽梗莽泭the dialogue between academia and practitionersand thementoring of early career researchersby leading scholars and practitioners of EU-Asia relations. It unites leading academic experts with楚喘捩楚唬啦sEU Policy Impact Teamcomprised of media and think tank commentators and EU pracitioners.楚喘捩楚唬啦泭棗款款梗娶莽泭鳥喝梭喧勳餃勳莽釵勳梯梭勳紳硃娶聆泭expertise in EU external perceptions, CFSP, public diplomacy, media and communication studies. 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.
插泭systematic account of EU expectations, reception and recognition by Asian actorswill equip the EU withoperational and programming level tools.EXPECTfocuses 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
TheEUGS was launched in difficult times -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 EUs commitment to global order through the norms of human rights, sustainable development and international law and stressed a readiness to not impose and to search for mutual understandings beyond EU borders.
The EUGS promises to enhance 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. Expectations were set high and it is incumbent on the new 2019 EU leadership to deliver on these commitments.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭builds knowledge and facilitates best practice bycontributing to policy debates on global governance and fostering academia-practitioner dialogue.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭consolidates practitioners 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 expectations gap.
Informed by EUGS priorities,楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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 develop a more politically rounded approach to Asia (EUGS: 38); and
- establish a baseline of EU expectations in the context of leadership renewal and global disruption.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭gathers systematic data onEU recognition in societies marked by growing geopolitical weightand 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,楚喘捩楚唬啦泭facilitates a better understanding of EU global actorness under new leadership thus enhancing the integration process by providing external feedback.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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. Theacademia-stakeholders axisfostersinnovative research and teaching in EU Studies.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭also brings together a team of established scholars and EU-Asia practitioners to develop anew cohort of early-career researchers from the EU and Asiato promote sustainability in the fields of EU foreign policy, international identity and public diplomacy.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭will equipyoung researchers with skills and knowledge for effective careers.
Utilising楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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 楚喘捩楚唬啦s Policy Impact Team.
To guarantee quality and multidisciplinarity,楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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.楚喘捩楚唬啦泭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 anon-going high-profile dialogue between academia and EU stakeholders.
楚喘捩楚唬啦泭is a cohesive professional initiativeto 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,楚喘捩楚唬啦泭adds academic and civic value by promoting acontemporary research agendaon EU external expectations andhigh-visiblity policy-academia links in a time of new leadership, global disruption and the EUGS.楚喘捩楚唬啦s multidisciplinary approach serves as aninnovative knowledge exchange platformto revisit theoretical approaches and methods and establishnew synergies泭莉梗喧滄梗梗紳泭喧堯梗鳥.
Media- and elite- focused楚喘捩楚唬啦泭analysis maps:
- differing expectations towards the EUs 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 EUs new leadership to reconceptualise its public diplomacy and recalibrate the EUs credibility and better manage expectations.
楚喘捩楚唬啦smultidisciplinary reflectionsfacilitate an understanding of the EUs 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 researchinforms 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
