Perceptions of the European Union’s identity in international relations

Summary:

This book examines the perception of European Union’s identity by the main actors in international relations. Analysing issues related to public discourse in third countries as demonstrated by, amongst others, their political elites, civil society, and think-tanks, the book highlights a ‘normative gap’ with regards to the European Union's self-definition/perception and its perception in the international environment.

The book also shows that the European Union’s perception of normative power in international relations is not shared consistently by the main principal actor yet is differentiated relative to geographical area and scope of activities undertaken by the EU. It demonstrates that the perception of the EU’s normative identity is a source of the crisis of the European Union as an effective and significant player in the international arena.

This book will be of key interest to scholar and students of European Union politics, European politics/studies, European integration, identity politics, and international relations.

Contents:

1. Introduction: theoretical and methodological background of the survey | Anna Skolimowska
2. Constructivist perspective on identity issue in international relations | Anna Skolimowska
3. In search of academic tools to evaluate the European Union’s identity on the global stage | Anna Skolimowska
4. The social construction of identity and belonging: perceptions of EU in the Western Balkans | Laura Maria Herța and Adrian Corpădean
5. The European Union and the countries of Eastern Partnership: the type of cooperation and neighbours’ perception | Beata Piskorska
6. Russia’s perceptions of the European identity | Olga Barburska
7. From the hopeless continent towards the rising star: the perceptions of the European Union by African elites | Anna Masłoń-Oracz and Iwona Janczyk
8. EU-India dialogue and the changing self-representations of the actors | Ana Pantea
9. East Asia - European Union relations: the case of Japan and South Korea in the last decade | Olga Barbasiewicz
10. Critical views on the EU’s international relations and identity as shaped by Latin American experiences and perspectives | Șerban Văetiși
11. American think tanks’ perspective of the European identity in foreign affairs | Bartosz M. Rydliński
12. Conclusions | Anna Skolimowska