| dc.description.abstract | 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. | en_US |
