The Perception of the EU’s External Image and Its Democracy Promotion Practices

• In Event: Reconceptualizing Democracy Promotion: The EU and Eastern Europe

Abstract

It is often argued that the European Union (EU) needs to be credible in the eyes of its targets to be effective in protecting and promoting democracy elsewhere. However, we know little about how EU officials think the EU and its policies are perceived by their counterparts in the countries where democracy promotion takes place, and how their understanding of the EU’s external image influences EU practices of democracy promotion. Building on research on external perceptions and the ’practice turn’, we examine the images associated with EU democracy promotion that are prevalent within the EU institutions and among its partners from the post-Soviet world. We first develop a theoretical framework for exploring how European practices of democracy promotion are shaped by how diplomatic agents believe their activities and their motivations are perceived externally. We then study this question through a mixed-methods design, including Q-methodology, quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with relevant EU officials and their Eastern counterparts. Theoretically, this study enriches our understanding of the relationship between perceptions and policy choices in foreign policy by adopting a dynamic approach that allows us to consider that donors’ policies are influenced by how they believe they and their policies are perceived by recipients. Methodologically, we advance Q-methodology by integrating the latest findings from factor analytic research and opening it up to rigorous political science research. Empirically, by accounting for potential misperceptions, our findings contribute to a consolidated, shared understanding of what democracy promotion can and should be in the Eastern Neighbourhood and beyond.

Authors

• Alexander Matthias Geisler, University of Geneva

• Tina Freyburg, University of St.Gallen

• Danyl Denysenko, University of St.Gallen

• Ioannis Vergioglou, University of St. Gallen