This thesis examines the ability of the European Union (EU) to impact on the Palestinian people and their institutions. Before using the formal concept of actorness to examine the extent of this impact, it presents a model of actorness that synthesises aspects of Bretherton and Vogler’s and Sjösjedt’s models. It uses the components of this model as a series of lenses through which to focus on and examine various facets of the EU’s influence. The analysis deals with diplomacy, aid, and the effects of the unexpected Hamas victory in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections. The thesis finds that the EU’s early lack of diplomatic direction improved for a period but was limited by its consistent inability to have an effect if it ignored the US. In the field of aid, the EU has been a more successful actor. However, the EU’s best efforts in these spheres have been undone by two EU blunders. First, it classified Hamas as a terrorist organisation and subsequently felt unable to provide aid to a Hamas-run government. Second it joined the Quartet in the hope of increasing its own diplomatic clout, but found that it had given the US the opportunity to erode its ability to act as an independent financial agent.

This thesis examines the ability of the European Union (EU) to impact on the Palestinian people and their institutions. Before using the formal concept of actorness to examine the extent of this impact, it presents a model of actorness that synthesises aspects of Bretherton and Vogler’s and Sjösjedt’s models. It uses the components of this model as a series of lenses through which to focus on and examine various facets of the EU’s influence. The analysis deals with diplomacy, aid, and the effects of the unexpected Hamas victory in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections. The thesis finds that the EU’s early lack of diplomatic direction improved for a period but was limited by its consistent inability to have an effect if it ignored the US. In the field of aid, the EU has been a more successful actor. However, the EU’s best efforts in these spheres have been undone by two EU blunders. First, it classified Hamas as a terrorist organisation and subsequently felt unable to provide aid to a Hamas-run government. Second it joined the Quartet in the hope of increasing its own diplomatic clout, but found that it had given the US the opportunity to erode its ability to act as an independent financial agent.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A presente dissertação busca demonstrar o comportamento da União Europeia como um ator unitário nas Organizações Internacionais. Com o aprofundamento da integração europeia e seus desdobramentos institucionais, é possível perceber o surgimento de um novo ator no cenário internacional, que engloba 27 Estados e vem ganhando força impactando nas negociações internacionais. Através de dois estudos de caso, a pesquisa demonstra a actorness da União Europeia e o seu comportamento em duas Organizações Internacionais, o Fundo Monetário Internacional e a Organização Mundial do Comércio. / The present dissertation seeks to analyse the European Union behaviour as a unitary actor in the International Organizations. As the European integration deepens, along with its institutional unfolding, it`s possible to perceive that a new actor has come to light in the international scenario, enclosing 27 countries and that has been strengthen up to the point to impact in international negotiations. Through two case studies, this research presents the European Union actorness and its behaviour in two International Organizations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.

More than ten years after the largest economic crisis, which stroke the European Union in 2008 and thoroughly tested its readiness and ability to act, Europe was hit by a global pandemic of COVID-19. Because of this crisis, the European Union and its institutions faced a number of challenges, stemming from unprecedented measures imposed to tackle it. In contrast with the economic crisis, it was not only the European industrial and financial sectors but also more segments, essential to the functioning of the European Union itself, which were affected by the recent crisis. The aim of this thesis is to point out the differences of impacts of the two crisis and to find out the role played by the European Commission during the process of dealing with them.

This Master Thesis is depicting process of establishing actorness of the EU within international space, that is limited for this research on area of the Arctic. Policies of the EU are not uniformly developed, some are stronger, and some are weaker, that is a reason why in certain moments or position could be EU considered a non-actor. Document of Arctic Strategy is presenting system of three pillars- spheres in which the EU will be fulfilling its goals. Using the actorness assessment method by Bretherton, C. et Vogler, J. could be found out, how much a certain pillar is strong and whether the EU is able to fulfil its role as an actor in the light of its goals.

The aim of the master thesis is to evaluate the European Union's position in the field of global energy policy. The thesis adopts a concept of actorness which is then applied to the case of the Nabucco pipeline project. The concept aspires to respond to an unclear status of the EU as an entity of its own kind in an international system of states. The study is based on a Brattberg's and Rhinard's approach to actorness which specifies a number of variables. Their analytical framework allows us to assess the extent of EU actorness - the ability to act as an international actor. The particular variable that this thesis focuses on is vertical consistency. Vertical consistency in the academic sphere is regarded as a significant factor of actorness. It is also often considered as an insufficient element of an integrated approach of the EU - internal unity is inevitable for more effective joint policy. Energy policy of several Member States is examined in contrast with the EU energy policy as a whole. Own analytical framework is established due to the lack of information on vertical consistency in the literature. It consists of four variables: competence of the EU in energy, financial policy, verbal and bilateral political relations of Member states with third parties. The results of the investigation...

2 Abstract Thi di er a ion e plore he e of coercion in he EU liberal peaceb ilding frame ork in Palestine. Palestine has a long- anding hi or of foreign ac or in ol emen . Since he 1993 O lo Accord , he EU peaceb ilding role a one of Pale ine main financial donors has increased. There is scholarly disagreement and a lack of understanding on the role of coercion in peacebuilding practices. While scholars argue that coercion is a core element for human organisations, others do not recognise the negative impact of coercion in peacebuilding when this does not entail the use of force. Furthermore, the peacebuilding scholarship offers little to no conceptualisation of coercion. Therefore, this dissertation explores how coercion manifests in peacebuilding practices, looking at the case of the EU liberal peacebuilding activities in Palestine. In doing so, the research emphasises on how local Palestinian recipients perceive coercion. The current liberal approach of the EU is built upon the economic dependency of Palestinians, which essentially constitutes a coercive structure. The asymmetric power relations between different actors in the region allows space for the contestation of coercion. This dissertation argues that coercion in this context goes beyond its traditional understanding, and therefore requires...

Nearly four decades of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union (EU) relationship have witnessed the importance of ideas and identity alongside the economic interests in shaping the behaviour of the two sides. The study takes interest in understanding the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor with and within Southeast Asia through a reflectivist lens. The thesis is an attempt to provide a new perspective on a relationship commonly assessed from an economic angle. It outlines the opportunity of non-traditional security (NTS) challenges to enhance EU actorness and normative influence in Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the study explores the dialogue and cooperative initiatives of two regions, which attach relatively little salience to each other. The study employs a NTS lens and draws upon the case of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the haze in relation to forest governance, the Bali bombings of 2002 and the political conflict in Aceh. The study assumes that these NTS issues can stimulate processes of threat convergence as well as threat ‘othering’. It argues that these processes enhance European engagement in Southeast Asia and contribute to shaping regional stability in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, NTS crises present situations, where norms can become unstable, contested and substituted. This allows us to better examine the EU as a normative actor. To establish an understanding of the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor, the empirical evidence will focus on the threat perceptions, motivations of action and activities of the EU and its member states. For the purpose of differentiating the EU as a normative actor, the study will also include the discussion of the normative objectives and behaviours of the EU and its member states and apply a reflectivist theoretical framework. Hypothetically, NTS crises trigger external assistance and normative influence and thus, they offer an opportunity to establish a more nuanced picture of the EU in the region. At the same time, the study acknowledges that there are a variety of constraints and variables that complicate the EU’s actorness. The thesis seeks to identify and discuss these. So far, scholarly publications have failed to apply the NTS perspective systematically. This thesis provides the first monograph-length treatment of the EU in Southeast Asia through a NTS and reflectivist lens.

This thesis seeks to answer the following question: How and to what extent does identity and Self-Other perception influence the foreign policy of the EU and Russia toward the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian State? The thesis scrutinises the assumption that identity and Self-perception as well as perception of ‘otherness’ play a vital role in defining foreign policy-making, with policy toward the Middle East being no exception. The investigation focuses on how the EU’s and Russia’s desire to reinforce their ‘global actorness’ on the international stage informs their involvement in the Middle East peace process. This assumption brings into the analysis the dynamic of constructivism in the shaping of foreign policy. Through a constructivist approach, the thesis attempts to explore how Self-Other perception informs foreign policy-making, specifically by the EU and Russia, in relation to Palestinian statehood. Thus the thesis problematises existing views about the role of established IR schools in understanding foreign policy-making (namely, in terms of peace-making). The study seeks to deepen our understanding of the role of identity and Self-Other perception in EU and Russian foreign policy-making by going beyond conventional understanding of foreign policy-making that are fixated on ‘power’, with special reference to the question of Palestinian statehood. In this vein, I advance the argument that, contrary to the old assumptions of schools such as realism and liberalism, there is a role played by identity and ideas that needs to be assessed in the context of EU and Russian peace-making in the Middle East. The thesis tests these assumptions using a qualitative methodology to investigate the making of foreign policy by the EU and Russia. Discourse analysis is the main method employed to interpret the role of identity and Self-Other perceptions. This is done through a study of discourse made up of official documents and statements as well as interviews with diplomats with current and past involvement in the formulation of EU and Russian foreign policy.

The objective of the diploma thesis is to explore how the EU Actorness concept applies on the convergence of immigration and integration policies in a specific aspect -- the status of third country nationals who are long-term residents in selected member states (France, Sweden and the Czech Republic), their rights and the conditions they must fulfil to acquire long-term residence permits and citizenship in the host country. We examine how we see the EU as an actor in the field of those policies. We assume that the EU will not be successful in areas that are closely tied to national identity and state sovereignty. On the contrary, we anticipate that the EU influence will manifest itself in a unification of the status, rights and duties of long-term immigrants from third countries. This diploma thesis mainly examines the impact of non-obligatory EU regulations on the internal practice of the chosen member states, and their reflection in national conceptions, strategies and legislation.