Legitimacy, credibility and coherence : perceptions of EU roles in global climate change negotiations

The European Union’s leadership capacity on the international arena is not decided only by the EU itself. It is also influenced by external actors’ perceptions of the EU’s roles and by their reactions to EU initiatives. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual foundation for the study of external perceptions, and especially their effectiveness, and to apply this framework on the EU’s involvement in global climate change negotiations. The first task necessitates a discussion of links between the study of perceptions and other theoretical constructs, such as credibility and legitimacy, and the study of EU coherence. I apply this conceptual apparatus to the EU’s performance in global climate change negotiations by describing in what ways perceptions of the Union’s credibility, legitimacy and coherence in this field have impacted upon its effectiveness, operationalized as perceived influence and leadership, and how this has changed over time