Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

European Union Normative Positions, Resilience and Contestation : A Perceptual Approach

Chaban, Natalia LU and Elgström, Ole LU (2024) In Journal of Common Market Studies
Abstract

Positioned within a perceptual approach to European Union (EU) foreign policy, this article explores tensions relating to the resilience of the EU's normative identity, focusing on factors and explanations external to the EU. We engage with EU perceptions amongst external partners theorized as active agents/potential contributors to contestation processes. We focus on the perceived role of the EU as an international normative actor expected to mitigate the existential risks of climate change and pandemics for its own citizens and globally. We hypothesize two conditions for EU images to become less (or more) resilient in the face of contestation: (1) persistent contradictions leading to expectation–performance gaps as an initial... (More)

Positioned within a perceptual approach to European Union (EU) foreign policy, this article explores tensions relating to the resilience of the EU's normative identity, focusing on factors and explanations external to the EU. We engage with EU perceptions amongst external partners theorized as active agents/potential contributors to contestation processes. We focus on the perceived role of the EU as an international normative actor expected to mitigate the existential risks of climate change and pandemics for its own citizens and globally. We hypothesize two conditions for EU images to become less (or more) resilient in the face of contestation: (1) persistent contradictions leading to expectation–performance gaps as an initial condition and (2) situations of crisis, marked by perceptions of a watershed/historical event and strong emotions, that may amplify the expectation–performance gap. Empirically, we engage with the findings of the two major studies of EU external perceptions held by the EU's key global partners.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
contestation and resilience, expectation–performance gap, external perceptions of the EU, international normative leadership, perceptual approach
in
Journal of Common Market Studies
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85203540039
ISSN
0021-9886
DOI
10.1111/jcms.13665
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2af3880a-1d81-4d30-81d7-ed27eb81a55b
date added to LUP
2024-12-13 12:34:09
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:40:09
@article{2af3880a-1d81-4d30-81d7-ed27eb81a55b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Positioned within a perceptual approach to European Union (EU) foreign policy, this article explores tensions relating to the resilience of the EU's normative identity, focusing on factors and explanations external to the EU. We engage with EU perceptions amongst external partners theorized as active agents/potential contributors to contestation processes. We focus on the perceived role of the EU as an international normative actor expected to mitigate the existential risks of climate change and pandemics for its own citizens and globally. We hypothesize two conditions for EU images to become less (or more) resilient in the face of contestation: (1) persistent contradictions leading to expectation–performance gaps as an initial condition and (2) situations of crisis, marked by perceptions of a watershed/historical event and strong emotions, that may amplify the expectation–performance gap. Empirically, we engage with the findings of the two major studies of EU external perceptions held by the EU's key global partners.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chaban, Natalia and Elgström, Ole}},
  issn         = {{0021-9886}},
  keywords     = {{contestation and resilience; expectation–performance gap; external perceptions of the EU; international normative leadership; perceptual approach}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Common Market Studies}},
  title        = {{European Union Normative Positions, Resilience and Contestation : A Perceptual Approach}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13665}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/jcms.13665}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}