European Union Normative Positions, Resilience and Contestation: A Perceptual Approach
从外部伙伴的感知角度，研究欧盟规范性身份在争议中的韧性，分析期望-绩效差距和危机情境如何影响欧盟作为国际规范性行动者的形象。
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 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.