Mr. Ronan Lenihan, Project Executive, Asia-Europe Foundation Asia in the Eyes of Europe: Images of a Rising Giant
Media Outlets Widely circulated daily (serious) Tabloid/ 2nd serious daily TV Primetime news Austria Der Standard Kronen Zeitung ORF2 20min/7:30pm Belgium (W) Belgium (Fl) Le Soir la Libre RTBF 30min/7:30pm De Standaard De Morgen VTM 30min/ 7:30pm Denmark Jyllands-Posten Ekstra Bladet TV2 30min/7pm France le Monde le Figaro France2 30min/ 8pm Germany Süddeutsche Zeitung Bild Tageschau-ARD 15min/8pm Italy Corriere della Sera Il Giornale TG1 30min/ 8pm Romania the Adevarul Libertatea Antena1- Observator 1hour/7pm UK Daily Telegraph the Daily Mail BBC 30min/6pm EU European Voice Euro News 30min/7pm Analysis 6 days 7 days Electronic versions/ archives (same to hard copies) available
Volume of News Volume of articles per country 700 659 600 500 400 300 361 287 286 256 255 255 240 200 100 0 133 39 N = 2,770 articles, collected between 1 September to 30 November 2010
Volume of News 700 600 500 16 TV Newspapers 400 300 200 100 18 16 1 11 9 3 3 9 0 N = 2,770 articles, collected between 1 September to 30 November 2010
Volume of News Weekly average 60 50 51 40 30 20 10 28 22 22 20 20 20 18 10 0 N = 2,770 articles, collected between 1 September to 30 November 2010
Sources of News 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Local N/A Local Newswires Local Correspondents Non-Local Correspondents Non-Local Newswires
Framing of Asian actions 100% 75% 50% 25% Asia as an economic powerhouse (well-being of the Asian economies; investment, business opp. in Asia for European companies ); Asian economies as trading partners 0% Politics Development Environment Economic Social
Framing of Asian actions 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Sports (Asia Games, Asia Championship, Asian representatives in international sporting events); Asian lifestyle/culture Politics Development Environment Economic Social
Framing of Asian actions 100% 75% Politics: Security issues, Afghanistan, Obama tour of Asia, territorial disputes, Asia s rising role in International Politics 50% 25% 0% Politics Development Environment Economic Social
Evaluation of News total 13% 13% Positive Negative Neutral 74%
Positive and negative news total Evaluation of Social news Negative 17% Positive 11% Evaluation of economic news Negative 7% Positive 21% Neutral 72% Evaluation of political news Neutral 72% Negative 19% Positive 4% Neutral 77%
Imagery: Social Asia
Imagery: Economic Asia
Imagery: Political Asia
Imagery: The US-Factor
The Media s Face of Asia 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 How Asia is represented in European media China Japan India South Korea ASEM ASEAN APEC N = 2,770 articles, collected between 1 September to 30 November 2010
Europe s view on Thailand How is Thailand represented in the context of Asia Media - Thailand features in 4.3% of articles (118 in total) referencing Asia and its actors - 48% on Social affairs, 29% on economic affairs, 16% on political affairs, 6% environment affairs, 1% development affairs Public Opinion - Future Importance Thailand score 5.2 (out of 10) in terms of the future importance for co-operation with European partners - Positive feelings Thailand score 3.0 (out of 5) in terms of positive feelings from European respondents - Personal/Professional Ties - 3% of those surveyed answered that they had personal and/or professional ties with Thailand
Images of Asia in EU Public Opinion Austria Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy Romania UK 1st 2nd 3rd Social, Culture, Religion Social, Culture, Religion Social, Culture, Religion Economic Individual countries (esp. China) Individual countries (esp. China) Social, Culture, Religion Individual countries (esp. China) Geography/Distance Individual countries (esp. China) Individual countries (esp. China) Individual countries (esp. China) People Geography/Distance Individual countries (esp. China) Social, Culture, Religion Economic Geography/Distance Geography/Distance Social, Culture, Religion Social, Culture, Religion Social, Culture, Religion Geography/Distance Geography/Distance
Feelings Towards Asian Countries On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is very negative and 5 is very positive, how do you feel towards each of the following countries? Thailand 3.03 Australia USA Japan 3.89 3.72 4.16 India China 3.25 3.08 0 1 2 3 4 5 China India Japan USA Australia Thailand
Most Important Areas for cooperation Other 21% Trade 35% Security and anti-terrorism 12% Human rights and democracy 16% Environmental protection 16%
Future Importance of Asian Countries Country Most cited Asian countries in politically framed news Percentage Number of articles China 43.1 232 Japan 25.5 137 India 22.7 122 South Korea 22.1 119 Selected others Pakistan 10.6 57 Myanmar 6.9 37 Future importance of Asian countries European average Rank Country Future Importance 1 China 7.4 2 Japan 7.0 3 Russia 6.9 4 India 6.8 5 Australia / Singapore 5.6 6 South Korea 5.5 7 Indonesia 5.3 8 Thailand 5.2 USA 7.8
In the Shadow of China
Future Importance of Regions Region Average score Europe 8.5 North America 7.3 Asia 7.0 Middle East 6.4 Latin America 5.9 Australasia/Oceania 5.8 Africa 5.5 European average
Future Importance of Regional Organisations Regional Organisation Average score European Union (EU) 8.25 North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) 6.74 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) 6.05 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 6.01 Mercosur (Southern Common Market) 5.89 African Union (AU) 5.07 European average
Views from the media gatekeepers My impression is that ASEAN is seen as one big block. But I am located in China, and here it seems like China is the only state that matters. (Financial Times Deutschland) When you write about Asia, you write about China. This is one of the clearest tendencies I see at the moment. (Kristligt Dagtblad) The greater region is a rising power, especially economically. And politically, it s one of the new hot spots, especially because of all the tensions between the states. (FAZ)
Key Findings Europeans expect Asia to play an increasingly prominent role throughout the 21 st century. Asia is a mystery to the European public. Europe sees China as a proxy or symbol of a rising Asia. European media rely almost solely on non-asian news sources. Europe has little to no understanding of Asian regional dynamics. The Obama factor interest in the US role in Asia
ASiE Publication Asia in the Eyes of Europe: Images of a Rising Giant Edited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sebastian Bersick, Dr. Michael Bruter, Dr. Natalia Chaban, Sol Iglesias and Ronan Lenihan 2012, 303 pp., pb., 54.00 ISBN 978-3-8329-7578-4 (DGAP-Schriften zur Internationalen Politik)
Mutual Perceptions of Asia and Europe in a Changing Global Environment The Case of Thailand Thursday, 30 August 2012, 10:00am-12:00pm Chulalongkorn University Supporting partners: This research has been carried out with the financial support of: