Ett enat Europa med en enad utrikesminister? En kontrasterande jämförelse mellan den Höga Representanten och Tysklands utrikesminister

Abstract

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to gain a deeper understanding for the High Representative, and whether or not this position is equivalent to a foreign minister. Earlier research has mainly focused on the implementation of the High Representative after the Lisbon Treaty, its role and its relationship to the European Council. In order to determine whether the High Representative is equivalent to a foreign minister or what their differences are, this study first defined an ideal foreign minister to resolve if the High Representative has adopted the actual role of a foreign minister. Later on, the study conducted a comparison with the German foreign minister. The material used are speeches made by these concerning the Iran deal and the Ukraine crisis. By doing a qualitative content analysis of the speeches, the results indicate that the High Representative is not equivalent to a foreign minister, as it cannot act autonomously and lacks some aspects of the implementation. Nevertheless, the conclusions show that neither the German foreign minister or the High Representative, acts as an ideal foreign minister. This proves that the High Representative is acting more as an actual foreign minister than an ideal one.