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Gaps in EU Foreign Policy pp 47–73Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Performativity of the Capability-Expectations Gap

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Abstract

The chapter examines how Hill’s writings on the capability-expectations gap (CEG) have been picked up, concentrating on the performative role of the concept of CEG. The chapter first outlines the quantitative side of the dissemination of Hill’s CEG concept, and then turns to a qualitative analysis of the ways in which the articulation of the CEG concept have been performative in promoting meanings along the lines of the gap discourse. The main point is that the dominant discourse on the CEG in Hill’s writings has framed and shaped the subsequent use of the concept of CEG. No publications referring to Hill’s writing on the CEG have touched on the destabilizing elements presented in the deconstructive reading in Chapter 3 or any other criticism for that sake. Even ideas for transforming the concept (credibility gap, consensus gap, legitimacy gap, expectations deficit, communication deficit, etc.) have been formulated within the dominant gap discourse.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It makes a difference whether you search for “capability-expectation gap”, “capability expectations gap” or capability-expectations gap. “Capability-expectations gap” gives the most hits.

  2. 2.

    All searches took place on 25 March 2016.

  3. 3.

    Searches took place 16 May 2015 through Harzing’s Publish or Perish.

  4. 4.

    Smith presents a brief overview of the EU’s CEGs in different areas under the heading of “Credibility and capability gaps”. However, he does not go into how he measures the CEG apart from saying that “…we might ask whether the lofty ideals expressed by the EU are in fact matched by solid policy successes in the real world of diplomacy” (Smith 2011:188–190)

  5. 5.

    There is, however, an unease expressed about the consequences of these different gap situations for EU actorness in Wong’s observation that there is a “lack of consensus on the nature of the European Union…reflected in the lack of a clear conception of the EU’s contours, capabilities and relevance amongst Asia elites” (Wong 2012:36).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Henrik Larsen

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  1. Henrik Larsen
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Larsen, H. (2017). The Performativity of the Capability-Expectations Gap. In: Gaps in EU Foreign Policy . Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95166-6_4

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