EU democracy promotion and the dominance of the security–stability nexus

Abstract

The article analyses the EU's approach for democracy promotion in Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of the Arab uprisings. Contrary to arguments that focus either on the EU institutions and member states or on the domestic policies of the targeted countries and see the post-2010 EU democracy promotion strategies as a continuation of previous programs, the article follows a more eclectic approach. By considering changes both at the EU and the international level, it argues that the EU appears as a pragmatic yet more flexible and reactive international actor. After 2010, the EU frames for democracy promotion have changed and are differentiated in the two MENA countries. Crucial to this cognitive change is the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) and the role that domestic elites have played in the two case studies.

The EU and LGBTI activism in the MENA – The case of Lebanon

“…The scholarly literature on EU democracy promotion in the MENA is often outcome-oriented, and seems to agree that the EU's efforts have been limited (Dandashly, 2018;Hanau Santini, 2013;Pace, 2010;Schmitter & Sika, 2017;Schumacher, 2018). Many analysts have been critical of the Eurocentric approach in the EU's foreign policy (Dandashly & Kourtelis, 2020;Keuleers et al, 2016;Lehne, 2014;Smith, 2005) and signalled the need for a new approach towards non-European countries (Keukeleire & Lecocq, 2018;Onar & Nicolaïdis, 2013).…”

The European Union Global Strategy and the EU's Maieutic Role*

“…In practice, however, the distinction between resilience seekers and ENP partners tends to be very blurred and a functional principle rather than geography could soon determine the kind of EU intervention. Tunisia, for instance, is an appropriate recipient of normative power while Egypt is not (Dandashly, 2017), and the EU has here shifted its agenda towards some sort of resilience. In other words, the maieutic power may become the prevalent one where the promotion of democracy is impracticable or increasingly contested.…”

Unintended Consequences of EU Democracy Support in the European Neighbourhood

“…All these areas of interest require "the assistance of the very regimes that democracy promotion was aimed at (and would have undermined)" (Hanau Santini and Hassan 2012). Faced with this dilemma, the EU has clearly prioritised security over democracy promotion and continues to do so post-Arab uprisings (see Dandashly 2018).…”