From a willing partner to close political and economic partner: analysing EU political elites’ images of Georgia from 1991 to 2020

ABSTRACT This article explores EU political elites' images of Georgia and its evolution from 1991 to 2020. The analysis relies on the author’s 25 original interviews with EU political elites, including presidents, prime ministers and ministers of EU member states and EU commissioners, alongside primary documents. By triangulating between novel interview data, document analysis and statements by EU officials, this article unpacks EU perceptions of Georgia’s intentions, capabilities, threats and cultural status over a 30-year historical period. The study shows that three main images of Georgia have emerged over time in the eyes of EU and EU member states leaders: first, Georgia as a willing partner to the EU; second, Georgia as a political partner to the EU and third, Georgia as a close political and economic partner to the EU. This article, by studying the EU political elites’ images of Georgia, adds knowledge to the EU’s perceptions of external actors, which is an under-researched topic in the scholarship of images and perceptions in EU external relations. Moreover, it extends the literature on EU–Georgia relations, and helps to understand some of their peculiarities.