Critical Expectation Gaps: Advancing Theorization of the Perceptual Approach in EU Foreign Policy Studies

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.