Interest and Power Analysis according to Waltz’s Structural Realism exemplified in ‘Theory of International Politics’ of the EU’s Engagement in Central Asia

The Thesis focuses on the EU’s security strategy towards the Central Asian states – as part of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy towards the post-soviet realm. It shall answer the question ‘in how far Waltz’s structural realism can explain why the EU is narrowing its security strategy by abandoning human rights and democracy promotion in its Common Foreign Security Policy towards the Central Asian states? The thesis takes a top-down view on the EU as an international actor and concentrates on its interests and its relative power position compared to Russia in the Central Asian region. The comparison with Russia as the regional hegemon shall deliver fruitful insights in the explanations Waltz’s structural realism provides. Its possible limits to explain the EU’s role in the Central Asian region are considered in the conclusion.