Critical Expectation Gaps: Advancing Theorization of the Perceptual Approach in EU Foreign Policy Studies
本文提出“关键期望差距”概念，分析外部对欧盟的期望与感知绩效之间的落差，并基于13国青年数据探讨感知差异如何影响欧盟行动的有效性。
Abstract Advancing theorization of the perceptual approach to EU foreign policy, this study develops a new notion of critical expectation gaps , intended to reflect on the depth and intensity of the rapture between expectations/hopes and perceived performance of the EU. In our focus is the correlation between the degree of externally perceived ‘Otherness’ and the likelihood of EU external action to be considered effective, whereas the EU adapts (or not) to existing perception gaps (in this research, the expectation–performance and hope–performance gaps). We propose a novel conceptual apparatus to understand the gaps in terms of the locus of expectations and types of causal factors . Empirically, we engage with a 13‐country dataset of external perceptions of the EU amongst tertiary educated youth.