School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses

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End date: 2019 × Start date: 2010 × Subject: European Union ×

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    From conflict to cooperation: the transformation of Australian foreign policy towards the European Union
    Yencken, Edward William ( 2017)
    Given the emphasis placed on the US alliance and engagement with the Asia-Pacific region, Australian foreign policy can appear restricted in its focus. Australia’s approach to relations with the European Union (EU) reflects this situation, as they attracted limited attention and were centred on a number of bilateral disputes up until the early 1990s. This thesis, which examines the period up until the announcement of the opening of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in 2017, argues, however, that Australia over the past two decades has forged an increasingly close relationship with the EU. This development has involved an emphasis on substantive cooperation in areas such as foreign and security policy, aid delivery, economic and trade matters, and climate change. Two case studies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Eurozone crisis, are used to demonstrate the transformation of Australian perceptions of the EU. This has seen the EU transitions from an actor behaving in a manner contrary to Australian interests to now being a politico-economic ally. These case studies also demonstrate how Australia’s past emphasis on bilateral disputes has been largely overcome with the signing of substantive bilateral agreements predicated on shared interests.
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    Promoting values in the European Union’s free trade agreements: institutional competition in negotiations with Canada and Singapore
    McKenzie, Lachlan de Lacy ( 2016)
    This thesis explores how competition among EU institutions shapes the promotion of its values-based foreign policy interests through trade negotiations. It argues that the EU’s human rights and sustainable development values are in tension with commercial interests in trade policy. These tensions are explored through an analysis of decision-making processes among EU institutions during FTA negotiations with Canada and Singapore. Throughout decision-making in these negotiations, institutional competition has diminished the EU’s coherence in advancing values-based foreign policy interests.