The dynamics of the European Union foreign and security policy : challenges from North Africa

Abstract

The whole world is witnessing a major series of revolutions in the Arab world including North Africa, which has led to changes in the region but also affected EU's foreign and security policy and put light onto its deficiencies. Even though the EU was present throughout the Arab Spring, it has been portrayed as weak and inefficient. Focusing on Tunisia and Egypt as case-studies, this study examines the extent to which the EU's capability-expectations gap has deepened further. Christopher Hill's capability expectations gap is used both as a benchmark and as a hypothesis, as the analysis focuses upon it while keeping the Arab Spring in context. The widening of this gap created a detriment both to the EU's internal and external stability because it undermined the EU's credibility in the Arab world and created a mistrust of its intentions. Given the lack of consensus among the EU' s member states, the slow and hesitant response, and the inefficiency in its resource allocation amongst other problems, the EU is shown as an inefficient global actor. However, in spite of its shortcomings and heavy criticism, the EU has made improvements and it is believed that there is still space for action. Since it is still an ongoing process, the EU can struggle to offer stronger commitment and further develop its efficiency.