Abstract:
The Arab uprisings of 2011 and the consequent ousting of long-standing autocratic
regimes in North Africa have forced the European Union to radically alter its
relationship with its neighboring region. In effect, this process became the top
priority for the European External Action Service (EEAS), Europe’s newly created
foreign policy agency. Now, more than two years later, this thesis asks: To what
extent has the EEAS, as created by the Treaty of Lisbon, achieved its goal of
becoming an effective global actor when we review its response to the Arab
uprisings? Taking Egypt and Libya as case studies, this thesis identifies that the
EEAS has failed to live up to expectations since it has not succeeded in achieving its
goals both within the European political arena and abroad. This is the result of both
institutional weakness and individual shortcomings. Nevertheless, this new
institution can be seen as yet another step in the incremental development of
common European capabilities in the field of foreign policy. However, concerning
the European response to the Arab uprisings the EEAS has not been able to turn the
EU into the global actor it aspires to be.
