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The main topic of this thesis is the influence of the Kurdish Question on Turkey’s relations with Europe and the USA. Aiming to develop a triplex framework of (1) the Kurdish Question in Turkey, (2) Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy, and (3) Turkey’s Relations with Western Society, this thesis specifically studies the international dimension of the Kurdish Question. It has two basic arguments: first, the Kurdish issue is the major cause of the deterioration in the relationship between Turkey and the West, in spite of alliances that go back over half a century. Second, Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy is the main catalyst of that long-lasting troublesome relationship. The Kurdish Question is evaluated using empirical data that examines its impact on the relationship between Turkey and the West in the period 1989-2007. Within this the problem is examined by applying a normative approach and analyses that are carried out within a theoretical framework provided by a constructivist approach. In order to present research questions by empirical evidence, discourse analysis is used that goes in hand with the theoretical approach. Three Foreign and Security Policy norms are examined, namely “Sèvres Syndrome”- the suspicion of influence of external powers and interests on Turkey, the principle of “Status Quo” applicable in FSP and internal security arrangements, and finally, the “Westernism” that foresees being pro-Western in foreign policies and internal socio-political field. Findings suggest that those three norms played significant roles in shaping Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy for decades, while important changes occurred within the recent years.

This study argues that the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is a constrained agent of Europe’s foreign policy. The 2009 Lisbon Treaty reform created the remodelled version of the High Representative of the Union as a potentially powerful agent to represent and coordinate Europe’s foreign policy. However, the analysis shows how and why the member states granted only limited discretion to the new foreign policy actor during the first years of the post’s existence. The aim of the study is to reveal the conditions of discretion of the High Representative. With the use of a principal-agent (PA) approach, the study shows that conflicting preferences of the member states, tight control mechanisms, as well as inadequate cooperation with the European Commission limited the High Representative’s room for manoeuvre. The findings suggest that the PA approach can be developed further in the future in order to better explain limited discretion of agents in matters of foreign policy. Based on the findings, the study also puts forward a number of characteristics of a ‘constrained agent’. It is suggested that the post of High Representative has the potential to emancipate from its status of a constrained agent over time, and to gain credibility as a foreign policy actor.

The objective of this thesis is to evaluate European States&rsquo / efforts to develop a coherent and effective foreign and security policy in the context of historical evolution of the CFSP. In this thesis, European States&rsquo / efforts to develop a coherent and effective foreign and security policy will be evaluated in three international political contexts. First period is Post World War II Period, second one is Post-Cold War Period and third one is Post September 11 Period. In the context of Post World War II period, European States&rsquo / efforts to develop a coherent and effective foreign and security policy is shaped by the conditions of Cold War, Bipolar World and threat of Soviet expansionism towards Western Europe and characterized by the attempts such as European Defence Community, Fouchet Plan and European Political Cooperation. In the context of Post-Cold War period, European States&rsquo / efforts to develop a coherent and effective foreign and security policy were shaped by ex-Yugoslavian Conflict in early 90s which brought new security challenges such as ethnic conflicts and instability in the ex-Communist States in Central and Eastern Europe. EU&rsquo / s attempts were characterized by the CFSP which was launched by the Maastricht Treaty and the CESDP which emerged after Kosovo War with Saint Malo Declaration as defence dimension of the CFSP. In the context of Post September 11 period, European States&rsquo / efforts to develop a coherent and effective foreign and security policy were shaped by global fight against international terrorism. EU&rsquo / s attempts were characterized by adoption of European Security Strategy which accepted international terrorism, organized crime and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as key threats towards Europe and aimed at developing a coherent vision of strategic objectives, shared threat assessment for European States in order to prevent divisions among EU States in future international events. The main argument of this thesis is that in order to be an important and effective actor in global politics, EU Member States should act coherently and speak with one voice. Their influence on important international issues is greater if they act as a coherent actor rather than acting individually.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / There has been much speculation and editorializing over the deterioration of trans-Atlantic relations, specifically between the United States and Germany, primarily as a result of the US-led war against Iraq beginning in March 2003. What can account for this so-called trans-Atlantic rift and the unhealthy US-German relationship of late? This thesis argues that this deterioration in trans-Atlantic relations stems from a profound misunderstanding of strategic culture. Specifically, this thesis takes the position that a failure to appropriately understand what Germany's unique strategic culture has been a leading cause of the present uncomfortable relationship between the United States and Germany. This thesis shows how a nation's values, beliefs, and preconceptions, can have a powerful influence upon foreign and security policy decisions. It highlights the importance of strategic culture as an important influence upon a nation's efforts to transform its armed forces. This thesis includes an examination of the various definitions and theories surrounding strategic culture and its impact upon the policy making process. It explores German defense reform since the end of the Cold War, and includes a look at how these issues have influenced German military transformation efforts since 1990. This case study concludes with a look at the current challenges facing German defense transformation, and makes observations about how a better understanding of Germany's national security culture can contribute to improved US-German and trans- Atlantic relations. / Major, United States Army

prfce v anglick6mjazyce Changesin CFSPin the Lisbon Treaty Europe's aspiration to gain position of important player in the international relations goesalong with the origins of the Europeanintegrationprocess.Common foreign and securitypolicy (CFSP)and its predecessor,Europeanpolitical cooperation,arevery important partsof the Europeanintegrationprocess.Lisbon Treaty shouldhavehelped the Union to build more effective and coherentfunctioning in general.That is why I decidedto elaboratea thesison thetheme,,Changesin CFSPin theLisbonTreatf'. The purposeof my thesisis to analyzethe most significantchangesin the CFSpthat wasintroducedby theLisbonTreaty. The thesis is composedof eight main chapters.The first one is introductory and containsthreemain hypothesisthat needto be answered.The secondchapterfocuses on main aspectsof CFSPfrom thehistoricalperspective. Chapterthree and four are dealing with the problem that the aims are not laid down specifically for CSFP,but generallyfor the externalaction, andtry to make systematic enlistmentof CFSParea. Chapterfour showsthat CFSPis still seperatedandhasspecialpositioneventhoughit is not saidsodirectly.We cansaywe havetwo-pillar structure. In chapter five it is written about the fact that the Union is finally grantedwith the legalpersonalityin theLisbonTreaty....

Sanctions within the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the EU sanctions legislation, with the focus on the most problematic part - sanctions against non-state actors relating to the fight against terrorism. Within this objective I also focus on the analysis of relevant case law, in particular the latest developments at the Court of Justice, which has not yet been sufficiently reflected in the literature. The reason for my research is the intriguing development the application of sanctions has gone through in the EU, regarding the case law and the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One is introductory and defines the term international sanctions and the context of their adoption at the UN level. Chapter Two examines the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which is the tool EU uses for the sanctions application. Chapter Three thoroughly analyses the relevant provisions of the primary law. First part of the chapter focuses on the pre-Lisbon legislation for its importance for the EU case law. Second part provides a detailed insight into the primary law provisions after the Lisbon Treaty and focuses on the latest Court of Justice decision concerning the application of articles 75 and 215 SFEU. Chapter...

FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY OF THE EU WITH REGARD TO THE LISBON TREATY Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union (EU) is from its beginnings to the present time the area that is evolving very slowly with regard to other EU policies. It is a sensitive political issue, traditionally understood as a part of national sovereignty. That is why it has always been facing the reluctance of Member States to limit their powers in this area in favour of the Union. Union is constantly criticised for the lack of consistency of its external actions. Member states feel that it is necessary to "speak with one voice", if they want to have chance to be a legitimate partner to the world powers. It leads to slow enhancing of cooperation in the CFSP matters. Lisbon Treaty entered into force on the 1st December 2009 and brought many changes in the functioning of the EU. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the CFSP and the changes introduced by this Treaty without mentioning European Security and defence Policy. The thesis is divided into 5 chapters, each of them dealing with different aspects of CFSP. Chapter One is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the thesis and the context of external relations of the EU in order to explain the position of CFSP within EU policies. Part of this chapter is...

The misappropriation sanctions refer to the European Union sanctions adopted against foreign kleptocrats to address the suspected theft of public funds. After the regimes had been successfully overthrown in the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011 as well as the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine in 2014, the misappropriation sanctions were imposed, in all three cases, as the ousted leaders and their close associates were suspected of stealing vast amounts of public funds from their respective countries and hiding the misappropriated funds overseas. The misappropriation sanctions take the form of asset freezes against individuals considered being responsible for “misappropriation of state funds”. The sanctions in question have been extensively reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Union as numerous of the targeted individuals have applied for annulment of the sanctions in the parts that concern them. The purpose of this thesis is to examine, on the basis of the case law of the CJEU, the threshold for legitimate listing of a targeted individuals in the misappropriation sanctions. It is concluded that threshold vis-à-vis the criteria or the listing grounds must be regarded as reasonable, while the threshold concerning the respect of fundamental rights is creating a heavy burden to bear.

The purpose and main thesis of this study is to analyze the motivations for the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) over time. By examining annual reports from the Office of the High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the CFSP, ranging from 2009-2017, the aim is to investigate whether the EUs increased security cooperation is motivated by arguments expressing a common European identity, or by arguments supporting pragmatic cooperation between member states. Theoretically, this study relies on the perspectives Neofunctionalism and Intergovernmentalism to interpret the results and to contribute to the research fields of international relations and in particular European Union studies. Hypothetically, the reports were expected to either favor common identity arguments or pragmatic arguments over a course of time. The results show there was no clear change in motivation in either direction. In conclusion, no empirical evidence of further EU integration was discovered. Ideas of future research and the implications of the result are discussed at the close of the study.