In 2011 a wave of democratic uprisings swept across the Arab world. Overcoming authoritarianism in one of the regions in which it had been most deeply entrenched, sparked a broader trend of political change in the world. Against all odds, the mobilization, with the aid of new technologies, of a largely unorganized civil society, in the past suppressed by authoritarianism made this possible. Yet in order to overcome the resilience of authoritarianism, another change was necessary: the desecuritization of Western foreign policies and a genuine Western commitment to democratic change. Much like in Eastern Europe, in the Middle East too, the US and EU began seeing a congruence between their strategic interests and normative rhetoric and thus developed well-thought out policies to spur (or at least not hinder) a democratic transformation of the region.
Author: Nathalie Tocci
