It has been written extensively on the EU’s evolving role in the global economy. A mere numeric analysis tells the story about the world’s greatest economic actor that continuously grows in both scope and magnitude. However, due to an increased politicisation of global economic interactions, the matter is not that simple. Scholars agree that the USA, since the end of the Cold War, has been the preeminent actor, arranging, facilitating and maintaining the liberalisation of the global economy. Amongst these scholars, there is a consensus that the EU has developed its position within the framework for which the USA has pioneered and provided. The question is what happens when the USA withdraws from its global commitments and runs a policy counter to fundamental European interests and values? Through a detailed investigation of the European efforts to counter the American withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the reactions from the number of actors affected, I capture the extent to which the EU arrives at operating credibly and autonomously of the USA on an issue of strategic interest. My conclusion is that the EU’s agency in global affairs is restricted by the American position in the increasingly politicised economy. It becomes apparent that the institutional and structural framework within which the EU operates limits the Union’s ability to consolidate its position in global affairs through economic means.

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‘Narrative’ has become such a pervasive term in media and political jargon that its theoretical backbone has become harder to trace. With this in mind, this thesis seeks to contribute to the theoretical understanding of narratives in international relations research, with a focus on the European Union. This thesis begins with a discussion on narratives in the international system, what kinds of power they exert, and how they provide structure. This will lead into the conceptual debate of narratives as tools vs narratives as identity, which will in turn raise questions about how actors use narratives to maintain ontological security. Within the context of the EU, these questions are of particular relevance, as the struggle to create a narrative for the EU is well documented. Moreover, there remains a struggle to convince member states of the importance of an EU narrative identity. This thesis will examine the area of common foreign and security policy (CFSP) through the lens of narrative analysis. The case study of the formation and projection of the EU narrative on the Iran Nuclear Deal has been selected to determine whether or not member states in the EU are faithful to EU foreign policy narratives. An analytical framework has been developed based on strategic narrative theory and will be used to test narrative output from the EU, Germany, and France on the subject of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The results of this analysis will be considered using a reflexive approach. The goal of this research is not to implicate EU member states or to imply a lack of commitment to EU CFSP. Rather, this thesis seeks to demonstrate how deep-seated narratives affect even the closest of alliances. This thesis also seeks to encourage policy makers and scholars to consider the importance of narrative integration in EU research.

This thesis explores what effect Saudi and American policy differences towards Iran have had on their bilateral relations. It is based on the recent thaw in Iran-U.S. relations, and the critical reaction of the Saudi government towards this policy. The question has two components – first, how severe the current Saudi-American rift is, and second, to what extent it can be traced to their differences over Iran. The topic will be addressed through process-tracing methods. The thesis concludes that there is indeed a rift in Saudi-U.S. relations marked by an increasingly assertive and independent Saudi foreign policy, though its alliance with America will likely endure. It also concludes that while the thaw in relations between Iran and the U.S. on the nuclear issue was not ultimately the major factor, more general differences over Iran are one of the most significant reasons for the Saudi-U.S. rift.

This essay examines how energy security has influenced the EuropeanUnion's stand in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2022. The study aims to provide a better knowledge of the current political atmosphere and the challenges to the European Union's energy needs in comparison to the other parties involved in the JCPOA (the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). This paper employed a single case study method to assess the European Union's position in the JCPOA using theories of energy security and balance of power. The findings revealed that sanctions imposed on Iran's oil and gas fields had a significant impact on its economy, and Iran used a variety of threats to the global energy market to balance the exporter-importer equation. One of the targets is the European Union, which is one of the world's top energy importers. Iran has increased the price of energy by disrupting the Strait of Hormuz and assaulting Saudi Arabia's oil facilities by supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Furthermore, Russia has dreamed of a new rise following the collapse of the Soviet Union by controlling the European Union's energy market through its influence in Iran and attacking its neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine, which are considered transit countries. One might conclude that among the parties involved in the JCPOA, China is benefiting from Iranian cheap oil, which Iran cannot sell in the global energy market, and Russia has a participant on the Iranian side known as the shadow government, the Revolutionary Guards Corps which seems -based on Leakedaudio of Zarif, former Iranian Foreign affairs minister- it acts according to the Russian interests rather the Iranian interests. Furthermore, Russia has been creating a new international order by soft balancing and constructing a hegemon on the European Union's energy market. Russia is doing this hegemon through oil and gas contracts with Central Asian countries that are landlocked and cannot easily bypass supplying energy sources to the European Union, as well as invading its former Soviet countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, which are considered transit countries. Energy producers among the West Bloc countries included in the JCPOA are theUnited States and the United Kingdom. France and Germany are two of the EU's founding nations that rely heavily on energy imports. It is crucial that the EU honours the JCPOA in order to ensure its energy security.

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