Youth Opinion and Opportunities for EU Public Diplomacy: Youth Narratives and Perceptions of the EU and EU-Ukraine Relations in Ukraine and the three Baltic States

Abstract

<p>E-YOUTH focused on comprehensive youth opinion analysis (tertiary/secondary students, youth leaders) in Ukraine (UA) and the 3 Baltic EU states, treating information gathered as an indicator for national youth opinion on EU-Ukraine relations in the context of Ukraine’s European orientation, and the ongoing violent conflict which threatens the EU’s eastern borders. Youth is defined as a key target audience for EU public diplomacy.</p><p>The intensity of the conflict in UA makes public diplomacy more critical than non-conflict situations, thus E-YOUTH explored opportunities for EU public diplomacy via IR’s theory of strategic narratives. E-YOUTH traced youth narratives on systemic, identity and issue levels, situating them within narrative cycles of projection-communication-reception. E-YOUTH’s comprehensive methodology aimed beyond individual attitudes to access narratives, generating an assessment of EU diplomatic engagement.</p><p>Policy- and solution-oriented, E-YOUTH engaged leading EU & IR scholars and early-career researchers, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise. Young researchers were involved in all project phases. E-YOUTH engaged with stakeholders from the EU and UA and provided unique information to elaborate relevant policies and devise outreach initiatives to influence youth as target audience. Innovatively, E-YOUTH offered a comparative analysis of perceptions and narrative across youth generations.</p><p>Polls demonstrate younger respondents in UA are more likely to see themselves as Europeans, share a positive image of the EU and perceive UA’s European orientation as gains for themselves & UA. E-YOUTH provides empirical information to revise EU public diplomacy based on an assessment of EU narratives & perceptions. 3 Baltic states are seen as role-models in post-Soviet transformation; advocates/ supporters of UA’s European orientation and UA’s allies within the EU in the Russia-UA conflict.</p>