Image-ing the EU as an International Leader: A Survey of Asian Newsmakers’ Perceptions from a Public Diplomacy Perspective

With the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and the launch of the European External Action Service, the European Union (EU) has embarked on a new phase of international diplomacy, which includes renewed attention to EU public diplomacy (PD) efforts.

This article aims to contribute to EU PD scholarship and practice by studying the images and perceptions of the EU among news media professionals in Asia (findings from twelve Asian locations in the north-east, south, and south-east of the continent).A systematic analysis of the newsmakers' perceptions of the EU is doubly beneficial - firstly, it displays an insight into the world view of a powerful cohort of stakeholders in the region, and secondly, it explores the visions and attitudes that may stand behind choices in EU news selection and news writing. Findings of this survey of EU external images are discussed using basic typology of PD and its category of listening in particular.