https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/21524 Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:26:01 GMT 2026-04-25T14:26:01Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39691 Title: The European Union’s eastern accession and neighbourhood processes : do post-1989 experiences in central and eastern Europe have lessons for the Arab spring? Authors: Hopkinson, Nick Abstract: The momentous ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have frequently been likened to the 1989 uprisings in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union (FSU), which resulted in the subsequent collapse of Communism throughout almost all of Europe. Whilst the scope and depth of the political transformation in the MENA region continues to unfold, comparing the role of a key external actor, the European Union (EU), in both historic processes, can help give an idea of how the Arab Spring might develop. This chapter will argue that the two sets of uprisings are only partially analogous, and that the EU, the major external actor involved in the political and economic transformation of CEEs, is likely to play only a partial and limited role in the transitions in most MENA countries. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39691 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39690 Title: Between Russia and the EU : lessons from the orange revolution in Ukraine Authors: Haran, Olexiy Abstract: Tunisian and Egyptian people have succeeded with non-violent uprisings and regime change. But where will revolutions lead these two countries? Seven years ago, a similar peaceful revolution took place in Ukraine – ‘the Orange Revolution’- when for more than two weeks, beginning on the 22 November 2004, Ukraine was in the spotlight of international attention. Previously, the post-Soviet space was viewed by many policy-makers as a sphere of Russian influence, where post-Soviet, anti-Western political culture dominates and prevents movement to Europe based on democratic values. However, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians stood in freezing winter temperatures at Kyiv's central square - Maidan - displaying the fascinating people’s collective power. It prevented authoritarian Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma from bringing to office his chosen candidate and, in this way, to repeat the “Yeltsin–Putin scenario”. The revolution was non-violent, its participants demonstrated a high level of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional tolerance; hence, its importance as an example for divided societies. Many democratic movements made a reference to the Orange Revolution: from Belarus to Kenya, and from Taiwan to the 2005 Cedar Revolution in Lebanon. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39690 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39689 Title: Turkey and the Arab spring : the revolutions in Turkey’s near abroad Authors: Yilmaz, Bahri Abstract: The Middle East and North Africa (henceforth MENA) are areas of conflict and opposed perceptions. The last three months have seen unprecedented protests and revolutions in almost all Arab countries (“Arab Spring”), starting in Tunisia with the flight of Ben Ali and his family, spreading to Egypt with the overthrow of Mubarak and his government, and to Libya with its civil war and most recently to Syria. Some of the demonstrators’ criticisms and demands were the same across the region, namely end to corruption, fall of the regime, freedom, creation of employment opportunities, while others were country-specific. The demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of participants, who often occupied the capital’s main square, started peacefully but often turned violent, when the demonstrators clashed with security forces. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39689 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39688 Title: The OSCE’s Mediterranean dialogue : can it contribute to democratization in North African countries? Authors: Wohlfeld, Monika Abstract: The events in North Africa and Middle East which started in early 2011 and which have been colloquially (although as some argue not entirely appropriately) named the ‘Arab Spring’, have focused the attention of analysts and policy-makers alike on the tools the international community has at its disposal to aid and support the democratisation processes underway in some of the countries, especially in Tunisia and Egypt, but also Morocco, and now Libya. While much of this attention has been on the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) and its programmes, other regional frameworks with experience in democratisation processes have also been considered. One evident organisation in this context is the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Description: Includes Bibliographical References of Part V (pp. 495-504) Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39688 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z