The Narrative Continent

Discursive Recognition and the EU's Technological Actorness

Datos Bibliográficos

ID10071006
AutoresMahmoud Javadi (0000-0003-1047-8422, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Brussels, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Fecha de publicación2025-10-26
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJCMS Journal of Common Market Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0021-9886 • E-ISSN: 1468-5965
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jcms.70051
OpenAlexW4415565133
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas90

Recognition in global politics is not only earned through institutions or capabilities; it is narrated into being. This article investigates how the European Union (EU) is framed as a technological actor in global discourse, focusing on the symbolic dynamics of discursive recognition. Defined as a performative process through which legitimacy and agency are constructed in elite narratives, recognition is examined here through a mixed‐methods analysis of 148 Foreign Policy articles from January 2010 to March 2025. The paper introduces a two‐dimensional typology that maps how the EU is positioned along axes of regulatory authority and innovation capability. Findings indicate a significant shift in narrative patterns: early portrayals emphasised the EU's regulatory dominance but highlighted its technological shortfalls, whilst more recent discourse presents regulation as a competitive advantage and acknowledges the EU's growing presence in emerging tech domains. Although the EU is not yet fully recognised as a technological superpower, its symbolic profile has become increasingly multifaceted and contested. The analysis underscores how, in fragmented governance environments, power is exercised not only through policies and platforms, but through stories that travel, making recognition a vital, relational resource in shaping global technological influence

European and International Law Studies · European Union Policy and Governance · International Relations and Foreign Policy