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RESEARCH PRODUCT

EU Public Diplomacy and the Eastern Partnership : Some Reflections on Goals, Determinants and Constraints

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The aim of this article is to show public diplomacy using the example of the European Union, which by its very nature is perceived as an actor with a natural potential to conduct public diplomacy. In a more detailed perspective, the analysis concerns EU public diplomacy towards the states of the Eastern Partnership, which is both an addressee of its objectives and a catalyst for its difficulties and constraints. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, the definitions’ section of public diplomacy was briefly presented. In the second part, the aims and objectives of public diplomacy in the understanding of the European Union were presented. An important element of this section concerns the justification for why the European Union is perceived as an actor predestined to conduct public diplomacy. In the third part, the starting point for the analysis was the assumption that the EU’s goal in public diplomacy is to define its image and its role in its international environment, which is conducive to the EU taking on many international efforts, including the establishment of the Eastern Partnership. At the same time, analysing EU public diplomacy through the prism of this initiative offers a research opportunity to look closely at the limitations of EU public diplomacy in general, which can be strategic in terms of assessing the EU’s efficiency and effectiveness in achieving its objectives in international relations.