Ole Elgström

Krisåren har urholkat Europeiska unionens politiska och ekonomiska resurser. Samtidigt står Europa inför avgörande utmaningar på den världspolitiska arenan, där nya regionala maktcentra är på väg att etablera sig. Klimathot, fattigdom och människohandel är några av de problem som vittnar om allvarliga globala obalanser. I Europaperspektiv 2014 diskuterar tio ledande forskare inom ekonomi, juridik och statsvetenskap vår tids viktigaste globala frågor och EU-samarbetets betydelse för att driva dem framåt. Klarar EU att upprätthålla sin ambitionsnivå i arbetet med klimatåtgärder, frihandel, bistånd och mänskliga rättigheter? Hur utvecklas EU:s strategiskt viktiga relationer till Afrika, Kina och Ryssland? Har Cathrine Ashton och EU:s nya utrikestjänst lyckats ge unionen en starkare röst i världspolitiken, trots de allt djupare politiska skiljelinjer som krisen skapat mellan medlemsländerna? Deltagande författare: Lisbeth Aggestam, Arne Bigsten, Sanja Cogojevic, Ole Elgström, Magnus Henrekson, Anna Jonsson Cornell, Ari Kokko, Andreas Moberg, Tino Sanandaji, Anke Schmidt-Felzmann

This book examines how, within foreign policy, perceptions are a reflection of an actor's conception of status, credibility and legitimacy assigned to the Self and the Others. Perceptions of the Self and Other and their roles in international relations are also informed by images of superiority, intent and affinity. Perceptions may change over time and under the impact of dramatic events.Chapters explore the perceptions of both sides of EU–Ukraine relations, and propose a new set of concepts to highlight internal and external role incongruences, including: perception gaps, expectations-performance gaps and hope-performance gaps. A differentiation between cognitive, emotive and normative elements of images helps to explain role conflicts. The book further offers a comparison of EU self-images and Ukrainian expectations and perceptions in four areas of external actions of the EU: as an international leader and global and regional power, a partner for Ukraine, a peace mediator and a public diplomacy actor. Scholars and students of international relations, European politics, and EU foreign policy will find this book a useful resource. It will also benefit those studying political communication, as the book considers conceptual metaphor theory in its application to the studies of images and perceptions in international relations and communication about complex political events and actors.

How do small states approach their security problems? What types of strategic instruments exist for small states, and when and why are certain strategies chosen rather than others? The security of `weak' states is problematic, demanding trade-offs in the decisions made. Using 19th century Swedish security policy as an example, it is argued here that small states, in their pursuit of security and autonomy, face a dilemma between abandonment and entrapment, leading to a choice between balancing between great powers or making an approach to one of them. This hard choice confronts both non-aligned and allied states. It is also argued that a focus on the images of decision makers is required as a complement to traditional realist theory in order to gain an in-depth understanding of small state security decisions. This book is special in its focus on small, non-aligned states. Most studies on balance-of-power behaviour limit their analysis to alignment decisions. The study also expands the domain of image constructs by introducing perceived regime characteristics into the analysis, besides images of power and intentions. Audience: Scholars and students interested in foreign policy analysis, particularly small-state behaviour. The book points to the importance of beliefs and ideas in security policy.

How do small states approach their security problems? What types of strategic instruments exist for small states, and when and why are certain strategies chosen rather than others? The security of `weak' states is problematic, demanding trade-offs in the decisions made. Using 19th century Swedish security policy as an example, it is argued here that small states, in their pursuit of security and autonomy, face a dilemma between abandonment and entrapment, leading to a choice between balancing between great powers or making an approach to one of them. This hard choice confronts both non-aligned and allied states. It is also argued that a focus on the images of decision makers is required as a complement to traditional realist theory in order to gain an in-depth understanding of small state security decisions. This book is special in its focus on small, non-aligned states. Most studies on balance-of-power behaviour limit their analysis to alignment decisions. The study also expands the domain of image constructs by introducing perceived regime characteristics into the analysis, besides images of power and intentions. Audience: Scholars and students interested in foreign policy analysis, particularly small-state behaviour. The book points to the importance of beliefs and ideas in security policy.