Conclusions: Learning from Listening? Why the EU Failed to Learn from the Arab Uprisings and Why that Matters

This Article draws on the analysis of historical relations between the European Union and the Southern Mediterranean countries and highlights the main initiatives and consequences of the adopted practices of democratisation in the region following the Arab Uprisings. The main focus is on the continuity and limited changes in the new approach. One of the main findings is that the limited reform of the EU approach primarily resulted from the inherited political constraints. The net result was a set of structured security-orientated relationships that will continue to repeat earlier mistakes before 2011. The mechanisms of democracy promotion including conditionality remained inherently full of contradictions. The double standards in applying the conditionality principle in addition to the lack of significant leverage rendered the EU democratisation approach of the Southern neighbours inapt. Despite the 2011 ENP review promise of a substantial change in the EU democratisation approach, it seems that the EU’s initial euphoria following the “Arab spring” has waned as it seems to repeat the same old approach of liberalisation and securitisation of the Southern Mediterranean region rather than democratisation.

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EU’s democracy promotion in Egypt before and after Arab uprisings

Review of Economics and Political Science ◽

10.1108/reps-03-2019-0034 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Alaa Hosny Zahran

Keyword(s):

Paradigm Shift ◽

Democracy Promotion ◽

Political Arena ◽

Content Type ◽

Arab Uprisings ◽

Before And After ◽

Effective Role ◽

The Right ◽

Strategic Context ◽

The Eu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline how the EU figures out the importance of strengthening its relations with Egypt as one of the most strategic countries in the region to keep the union secured and stable. The paper also assesses to what extent the EU succeeds to promote democracy in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach The EU pursues its policy through a series of both bilateral and multilateral agreements with Egypt aiming at positioning their relations in a strategic context. The research adopted different approaches as descriptive and analytical ones. Findings Following the Arab uprisings, the EU was caught by surprise and announced a paradigm shift in its relations and introduced a set of policies to foster democracy promotion that witnessed some successes but with extremely modest results in some areas compared to the costs of the process. The EU succeeded in important reforms in trade liberalization while it did not bring clear changes in the political arena in Egypt. Originality/value The findings of this paper convey that the Arab uprisings were a wake-up call for the EU. It was the right time for the EU to conduct such a strategic and sincere reflection based on the role it wants to play in the changing region. In addition, findings prove that the EU’s response to revolutionary events has been weak and hesitant, and the EU has not an effective role in promoting democracy in Egypt.

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Security and stability reframed, selective engagement maintained? The EU in the Mediterranean after the Arab uprisings

The EU in the Mediterranean after the Arab Uprisings ◽

10.4324/9780429457593-10 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 182-195

Author(s):

Roberto Roccu ◽

Benedetta Voltolini

Keyword(s):

Arab Uprisings ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Eu

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Deepening democracy or stabilization?

Review of Economics and Political Science ◽

10.1108/reps-10-2018-009 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 20-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shimaa Hatab

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

Security Requirements ◽

Threat Perception ◽

Content Type ◽

Policy Orientation ◽

Arab Uprisings ◽

Southern Mediterranean ◽

Implementation Level ◽

Democratic Norms ◽

The Eu

Purpose Is the need for stability pre-empting the need for democratic values? How can the EU cope with two contradictory security requirements: the need to promote democratic norms and to secure geostrategic interests? This paper takes on the security-democracy dilemma in a complex way that transcends the realpolitik frame overshadowing the analysis of the EU’s policy orientation in the Southern Mediterranean while considering its normative role as a fig leaf for security interests. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the EU’s foreign policy orientation reflected in the ENP in terms of the two logics of action of consequentialism and appropriateness. Tracing changes at the policy level over time between 2011 and 2015, the paper zooms into the implementation of the “new” ENP in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia to highlight additional variation across countries. Findings Building on a document analysis of the official declarations for the policy-making level and of ENP action plans for the implementation level, the paper argues that local political dynamics and the level of the EU’s threat perception shape the EU’s response to the partner countries.

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