The Lisbon Treaty : has it made the European Union a more effective global security actor?

Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, its implementation of the changes introduced to the European Union's (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Defence and Security Policy (CSDP) remains an on-going project. This dissertation aims to examine these changes and analyse their impact on the Union's foreign affairs, security and defence policies as well as actions to date. By aptly addressing the questions of the EU's leadership, ambition, political will, and resources and capabilities in these policy areas, and adopting Hill's "capability-expectations gap" framework, I shall conclude that the gap has widened and the Lisbon Treaty has not yet made the EU a more effective global security actor. This pessimistic outlook is underpinned by the fact that the intergovernmental nature of CFSP and CDSP continues to dominate the EU's decision- making process and hence, the political will of the member states will remain a hindrance to the Union's "capacity to act" on the global security scene.Master of Science (International Relations