Assuming Superpower Status? Evolving Asian Perceptions of the EU
Using nuanced and specific to each geographical context news media and public opinion data from a trans–national comparative research project ‘The EU in the Eyes of Asia–Pacific’ (2002-on going), paper draws together a number of common comparative themes from the seven case-studies of EU external perceptions in Asia: Japan, China, South Korea, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The study explores EU media and general public images in Asia before and during the sovereign euro debt crisis testing the claim that the on-going economic crisis has ‘damaged’ EU external image. The findings debate on the EU’s expectations and capabilities in Asia. This debate reflects on the hypothesis of ‘capability-expectations gap’ (Hill 1993) (namely, the gap that exists between the excessive expectations placed on the EU from both inside and outside the Union and the insufficient capability assigned to the EU by its members that renders it unable to match these expectations).