The Quiet Diplomat: Catherine Ashton and the Making of Post-Lisbon Diplomacy

The first post-Lisbon High Representative had the challenging task of supervising the setup of the European External Action Service (EEAS) at a time when the momentum for the European project was slowing down and the EU's neighbourhood was hit by crises. With Catherine Ashton, member states picked an HRVP with very limited foreign and security policy experience, which led to a more managerial interpretation of her role. Based on her personal attributes, she advanced a role conception for HRVP focused on being a “quiet diplomat”, which involved a focus on the management of daily affairs and a problem and content-oriented engagement in the political processes. Her reserved leadership earned her criticism when the Commission dominated the creation of the EEAS and when Ashton remained largely invisible in crisis diplomacy on Libya and Ukraine. However, as a “quiet diplomat”, she met the expectations placed on the office regarding the key diplomatic portfolios of the EU, including the Western Balkans and Iran. The added value of the HRVP in EU’s foreign and security policy often lies in the mundane diplomatic business rather than in “high politics” as structured long-term outreach and trust-building is an area where the post can provide added value.