The European Union's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean
Democracy promotion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains a central pillar of the foreign policy the European Union (EU). Rather than concentrating on the relations between the incumbent authoritarian regimes and the opposition in the relevant countries, and on the degree to which these relations are affected by EU efforts at promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law (an outside-in approach), this collection of articles inverts the focus of such relationships and attempts to look at them ‘inside-out’. While some contributions also emphasise the ‘outside-in’ axis, given that this continues to be analytically rewarding, the overarching thrust of this book is to provide some empirical substance for the claim that EU policy making is not unidirectional and is influenced by the perceptions and actions of its ‘targets’. Thus, the focus is on domestic political changes on the ground in the MENA and how they link into what the EU is attempting to achieve in the region. Finally, the self-representation of the EU and its (lack of a) clear regional role is discussed.
- Preface Michelle Pace 2. Introduction: The EU’s Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean: A Critical Inside-Out Approach Michelle Pace, Francesco Cavatorta and Peter Seeberg 3. Political Islam in the Mediterranean: The View from Democratization Studies Frederic Volpi 4. Paradoxes and Contradictions in EU Democracy Promotion in the Mediterranean: The Limits of EU Normative Power Michelle Pace 5. Hamas in Transition: The Failure of Sanctions Are Hovdenak 6. The EU as a Realist Actor in Normative Clothes: EU Democracy Promotion in Lebanon and the European Neighbourhood Policy Peter Seeberg 7. Constraints on the Promotion of the Rule of Law in Egypt: Insights from the 2005 Judges’ Revolt Sarah Wolff 8. Egypt’s Moment of Reform and its Reform Actors: The Variety-Capability Gap Thomas Demmelhuber 9. ‘Divided they stand, divided they fail’: Opposition Politics in Morocco Francesco Cavatorta 10. Islamist Moderation Without Democratization: The Coming of Age of the Moroccan Party of Justice and Development? Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer 11. Promoting Democracy in Algeria: The EU Factor and the Preferences of the Political Elite Ayse Aslihan Çelenk 12. A Clash of Norms: Normative Power and EU Democracy Promotion in Tunisia Brieg Tomos Powel
