Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda handlingskapaciteten av EU:s utrikespolitik. Irakkrisen valdes som empiriskt exempel där EU ansågs ha lidit av handlingsförlamning. Tecken på handlingsförlamningen var avsaknaden av en gemensam position samt en effektiv ståndpunkt. Syftet är därför att utreda varför en gemensam ståndpunkt inte presenterades. Uppsatsen diskuterar även om resultatet är specifikt för Irakkrisen eller om det är generellt för den europeiska utrikespolitiken. Två modeller som förklarar handlingskapacitet används för att utreda Irakkrisen. Modellerna är uppbyggda av variabler som förklarar handlingskapacitet. Den första modellen inkluderar självständighet, sammanhållning, auktoritet och erkännande. Modell två använder tillfälle/möjlighet, närvaro och kapacitet. Modell ett visar att EU saknade auktoritet, vilket påverkade de övriga variablerna negativt. Resultatet anses vara generellt för den europeiska utrikespolitiken snarare än specifikt för Irakkrisen, eftersom auktoritet enbart kan förändras i en bearbetning av fördragen. Sammanhållning kan bero på fallet men på grund av komplexiteten i utrikespolitik är det en stor risk att även sammanhållning kan brista. Modell två framhåller en process där EU skapar sig en roll i världspolitiken. Rollen förstärks genom EU:s agerande. Den roll som EU har skapat sig antyder inte en enhet som agerar krig, utan är snarare förenlig med återuppbyggandet efter krig. Idén om EU har konsekvenser för vad ett tillfälle/möjlighet innebär, likaså för EU:s kapacitets trovärdighet. Eftersom rollen skapas i en process som sker över tiden så är risken stor att de svårigheter som resultatet belyser är generella. Det vill säga att problematiken troligen kommer återfinnas i liknande kriser. / The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the actorness of EU’s foreign policy. The crisis in Iraqwas chosen as an empirical example, where the EU was considered to have suffered from incapacity. Signs of the incapacity were the lack of a common position and effective statements. The aim is therefore to evaluate why there was no common position presented. The thesis furthermore discusses whether the result is specific for the Iraq crisis, or if it is general for the European foreign policy. Two models explaining actorness are used to evaluate the crisis in Iraq. The models are constituted by variables explaining actorness. The first model includes autonomy, cohesion, authority and recognition. Model two uses opportunity, presence and capacity. Model one shows that EU lacked in authority, which affected the remaining variables negatively. The result is considered general to the European foreign policy, rather than specific to the Iraq crisis, since authority can only be changed in a revision of the treaties. The cohesion may depend on the case, but due to the complexity of foreign policy there is a great risk that it may also fail. Model two emphasises a process where the EU creates a role for itself in world politics. The role is enforced by the EU’s actions. The role that the EU has created does not suggest an entity that acts in war, but is rather more compatible with the rebuilding after war. The idea of the EU has consequences for what constitutes an opportunity, as well as for the credibility of EU’s capacity. Since the role is created in a process that takes place over time there is a great risk that the problems, that the result elucidates, are general and not specific to the Iraq crisis.

The European Union (EU) is the world’s leading development donor, playing a pivotal role in shaping development norms. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which the EU has been effective in its external aid actorness towards global poverty eradication during the post-Cotonou negotiation period (2000-2020). The theoretical framework of Sjöstedt’s (1977) Actorness Theory  is constructed upon the premises of Social Constructivism. To operationalize “actorness”, Brattberg and Rhinard’s (2012) criteria of context, coherence, consistency, and  capability are utilized. The research triangulates the methods of Discourse Historical Analysis and Thematic Content Analysis to assess the EU’s nom-setting policy discourse. The analysis suggests that the Union scores highly in the context and capability criteria, as it is recognized as a legitimate development actor and possesses mechanisms to reach aid agreements, while lacks  coherence  and  consistency  due to inadequate policy implementation and commitment to McKee et al.’s (2020) Aid Quality Index. The thesis concludes that the EU’s aid effectiveness has decreased due to its actorness being increasingly linked to foreign policy considerations in response to emerging challenges in development cooperation. The research underlines the significance of analysing the empirical linkage between EU’s actorness and effectiveness for the field of International Relations.

Diploma thesis "EU as an actor of world environmental policy with special focus on agreements concerning climate protection" tries to find answer to the question of the relevance and strength of European Union in the field of world climate protection. The analysis of three important world meetings (Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, negotiations of COP5 in Kyoto, Japan in, 1997, and Copenhagen Summit in 2009) is the main tool in the search of the answer to the question, what makes EU relevant and strong actor in the world climate policy, whether its position is strong and what makes it an actor. Diploma thesis focuses not only on European powers in international arena, but also on its powers towards its member states. In this area, thesis focuses on EU powers towards its members, how the powers are used during the phase of enforcement and implementation of EU legislative and how successful the EU is in enforcing its will towards its member states in the field of climate protection. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate, to what extend EU can be considered to be an international actor in the field of climate protection policy and find out, if it has powers to influence other actors, negotiations and agreements and whether it can be considered a strong actor.

This study traces the development of narratives on the role of culture within the EU’s external relations and aims to identify culture’s contribution to contemporary construction and self-imagination of the Union’s international actorness. The focus lies not on how individuals and publics perceive these narratives or if they are successful in construction and shaping the perceptions of their audiences. Instead, the EU institutions’ and officials’ intentions and aspirations behind sending those messages are the focus point of the analysis, as well as the critical identification of the tools and methods through which the Union strives to do so. Thus, the overarching research question to answer is: how the EU uses narratives on the role of culture and international cultural relations to construct itself as a relevant international actor. And, why and how the internal EU discussion developed and changed over time. Based on a critical discourse analytical approach to the selected, official EU documents, speeches, international declarations and communications, it shows that currently two different understandings and roles of culture and international cultural relations coexist within the EU’s internal discourse: one, advocating the deployment of international cultural relations not for simply showcasing one’s own, national culture but for a greater, ambitious goal of global responsibility and sustainable development. The focus of this approach lies in the development of a new and solidary global environment which respects and celebrates (cultural) diversity, through mutual exchanges, reciprocity and the sharing of knowledge and expertise. While the other narrative focuses on constructing the EU as a “global power” and emphasises the importance of a more traditional European “cultural diplomacy”.