The EEAS and the Politics of EU Visibility: Digitalization and Strategic Innovation

‘Visibility’ is a concept often used in EU terminology as a means to advancing the EU’s reputation and standing in the world. Projections of EU visibility reveal changing conditions for international recognition where being seen is highly valued. This chapter examines the link between EU foreign policy, digitalization and public diplomacy, and especially the role of visibility in European Union (EU) external action and how the quest for EU visibility has changed in a new information environment. The chapter proposes that the commitment to EU visibility reflects changing conditions for international cooperation and security that are increasingly entangled with the politics of image, narratives and perception in world politics, indicating a changing world view and potentially a paradigmatic shift in EU foreign policy. In this context, the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic arm, has emerged with a formal mandate to increase EU visibility and engage the public(s) in matters of foreign policy. A series of challenges to EU public diplomacy such as crises, disinformation, mounting populism and new frontiers in global technology politics have however resulted in a bumpy trajectory for the EEAS efforts of managing EU visibility. The analysis builds on official documents, communications and 27 semi-structured interviews in the EEAS between 2017 and 2023. It dissects and compares the role of EU visibility in efforts of promotion and protection