Saudis' Perception of the European Union

A key program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 is the Strategic Partnership Program. The European Union (EU) is a major economic bloc with which opportunities and initiatives can be executed, thus contributing to the realization of Vision 2030 on regional and international levels. The research on perceptions of foreign actors has focused primarily on the degree of governmental and public acceptance or favourability that an actor enjoys. It starts from the assumption that these perceptions are substantially important as these provide a prerequisite for the actors to enjoy favourable ties. Only if an actor is considered favourable will the strategic partnerships between these actors be considered robust and durable. How do the Saudis perceive the EU? Are attitudes towards the EU based upon Saudi relations with individual EU countries like Germany or is EU seen as a unitary actor? This research project aims to answer these questions by differentiating between three determinants of EU perceptions in relation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).