Shaping the EU Global Strategy

This book explores the images and perceptions of the EU in the eyes of their Strategic Partners. Spanning four continents, these ten important global actors – the BRICS together with the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Mexico – are of profound significance to the EU in economics, politics, security and global governance. In 2015, the volume’s editors and contributors were commissioned by the European External Action Service to research these countries’ perceptions towards the EU. The research highlights how in changing multilateral settings, images and perceptions significantly influence the behaviour and foreign policy choices of actors. The findings presented in this book helped to inform the content and focus of the 2016 EU Global Strategy, and will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners of EU foreign policy, European integration and public diplomacy.

Natalia Chaban is Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She has published on image and political communication studies within international relations contexts involving the EU in numerous journals and books. Together with Martin Holland, she co-leads the internationally recognised project “EU Global Perceptions”, involving more than 30 locations since 2002. 
Martin Holland holds a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and is the Director of New Zealand’s EU Centres Network. His research spans a wide range of EU policy areas: institutional integration, common foreign policy, development and EU perceptions. He regularly lectures at universities in China, Malaysia and Thailand as well as New Zealand.