The Specifics of the European Union Foreign Policy Towards the Radical Left Regimes of Latin America (2003-2023)

The European Union, being one of the key players on the world stage, is paying more and more attention to the development of relations with Latin America. In the context of global competition for influence, this region is becoming increasingly important for the foreign policy of the EU. In addition to expanding economic ties, Brussels seeks to promote its values and norms in the region. This creates certain challenges, since several countries that are radical left regimes have views on the internal state structure, including human rights and democracy, that differ from the EU. The purpose of the master's thesis is to determine the specifics of the transformation of the European Union's foreign policy approach towards the radical left regimes of Latin America, namely Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. The period from 2003 to 2023 is chosen as the time period for the analysis, when the European Security Strategy 2003 and the EU Global Strategy 2016 determined the foreign policy of the EU, which are based on different priorities and tasks. In the master's thesis, a comprehensive attempt is made to determine not only the EU's approaches to building relations with the radical left regimes of Latin America, but also the factors that influenced their change over time, based on the analysis of three country cases using the external governance theory. The conclusions show that the foreign policy of the European Union in relation to the radical left regimes of Latin America has transformed from an approach based on the priority of upholding norms and values towards greater pragmatism, in which sometimes normative attitudes are put on the back burner in order to meet urgent needs. This has happened under the influence of many factors, both internal and external, while the importance of promoting democracy and human rights has remained a constant priority in the official rhetoric of Brussels.