The EU's Indo-Pacific strategic narratives: reception and perception gaps in Japan.

This article examines the reception by Japanese experts of the European Union's security narratives in the Indo-Pacific through the lens of strategic narrative theory. It engages directly with a core theme of the special section by adopting a decentring perspective and studying external perceptions...

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Publicado en:International Affairs Vol. 102; no. 4; pp. 1181 - 1202
Autores principales: Bacon, Paul, Julsrud, Axel A
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Jul2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The EU's Indo-Pacific strategic narratives: reception and perception gaps in Japan.
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        au:
          Bacon, Paul
          Julsrud, Axel A
        affil:
          Waseda University—Waseda Campus—FIRE, Nishi-Waseda Shinjuku 169-8050, Japan
          Waseda University—Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
      su:
        China
        Japan
        European Union
        Narratology
        Maritime security
        Economic security
        Bilateral treaties
        China-Japan relations
      sug:
        subj:
          Narratology
          China
          Japan
          European Union
          Maritime security
          Economic security
          Bilateral treaties
          China-Japan relations
      keyword:
        copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs
        copyrightYear:2026
        EU foreign policy
        Indo-Pacific
        inLanguage:en
        perception gaps
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag046
        Strategic narrative theory
        copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs
        copyrightYear:2026
        EU foreign policy
        Indo-Pacific
        inLanguage:en
        perception gaps
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag046
        Strategic narrative theory
      ab: This article examines the reception by Japanese experts of the European Union's security narratives in the Indo-Pacific through the lens of strategic narrative theory. It engages directly with a core theme of the special section by adopting a decentring perspective and studying external perceptions of EU narratives. It investigates role perception outside Europe through this outside–in approach, and it argues that important perception gaps emerge as the EU seeks to communicate its roles to Japan as a maritime security provider and as an economic security actor. The article also looks at Japan's agency as a security actor and producer of security narratives. The country has its own sense of a state of permanent emergency concerning the severe economic and military challenges posed by China and others. This conditions the reception in Japan of EU narratives, and Japanese perceptions of the relevance of the EU as a security actor are benchmarked against these challenges. The EU's narrative on trade in the region has transformed from an emphasis on inclusiveness to a focus on economic security and resilience. The EU's reflexivity in this regard offers potential for greater narrative alignment and policy coherence with Japan, whereas the perception gap between the two sides on maritime security is more fundamental and likely to be enduring. The best way for the EU to mitigate such perception gaps in the region is to focus its strategic communication on key bilateral partnerships and issue-specific strategic documents, rather than on the regional approach reflected in its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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