In this bachelor thesis the changes in the EU’s external relations with the Arab Republic of Egypt before the "Arab Spring", in response to the "Arab Spring" and in the aftermath of the revolutionary democratic movement, and the respective motives and agendas behind these external relations, will be analysed. In this thesis the term "Arab Spring" will define the entire period of democratisation in Egypt, as this will provide a more coherent structure and facilitate the analysis.
In December of 2010 a Tunisian street vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest the confiscation of his vegetable stand by the police. This self ignition was the starting point for a wave of government protests which started in Tunisia and swept through many Arab countries. This movement of pro-democracy protests is most often referred in the media and in public culture as the "Arab Spring", alluding to the Prague Spring of 1968, a pro democracy movement in the former Czechoslovakia. The "Arab Spring" was a heterogeneous pro-democracy, government critical protest movement which had very different outcomes in the various Arab countries. E.g. in Lybia, Syria and Jemen the protests led to, at the time of writing, still ongoing civil wars, in Quatar the protests were suppressed and in Tunisia and Egypt they led to democratic elections being held, following the ousting of the authoritarian president Ben Ali and Mubarak.
These wave of protests came as a surprise to the international community and due to the instability which followed the protests in many of the affected countries, the "Arab Spring" was of critical geopolitical importance. Especially for the European Union (EU) this was the case mainly due to its geographic proximity. The EU has maritime borders with many of the affected muslim Arab countries in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean has been defined as a homogenous region of interest for the EU since 1972, with the establishment of the Global Mediterranean Policy. The Mediterranean region constructed by the EU refers to the EU’s southern Arab neighbours (and Israel, Turkey), which includes many of the countries affected by the "Arab Spring". Due to this geographic proximity the EU has certain interests and agendas in the region.
Table of Contents
1 The “Arab Spring” and the European Union
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 The “Arab Spring” in Egypt
4.1 Timeline and actors
4.2 Causes
5 The EU’s External Relations
5.1 External Relations Policy Fields and Official Interests
5.2 The EU’s construction of the Mediterranean
6 EU external relations with Egypt
6.1 European External Relations with Egypt before the “Arab Spring”
6.1.1 Trade and economic policy
6.1.2 Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
6.1.3 Development Policy
6.1.4 Security Policy
6.1.4 Discussion
6.2 EU external relations with Egypt during the “Arab Spring”
6.2.1 Economic and Trade Policy
6.2.2 Foreign Policy
6.2.3 Development Policy
6.2.4 Security Policy
6.2.5 Discussion
6.3 EU external relations with Egypt after the “Arab Spring”
6.3.1 Economic Policy
6.3.2 Foreign Policy
6.3.3 Development Policy
6.3.4 Security Policy
6.3.5 Discussion
7 Reflexion
8 Conclusion
Research Objectives & Key Themes
This thesis examines the evolution of the European Union's external relations with Egypt across three distinct periods: before, during, and after the "Arab Spring." It investigates how the EU balanced its normative commitment to democracy promotion with its geopolitical interests in stability, security, and economic cooperation, specifically analyzing whether policy shifts reflected a genuine paradigm change or remained consistent with previous patterns of "Realpolitik."
- Evolution of EU-Egypt diplomatic and economic relations
- Impact of the "Arab Spring" on EU neighborhood policy
- Role of "grey literature" and quantitative data in tracking foreign policy shifts
- Tensions between democracy promotion and security-stability agendas
- The influence of migration and counter-terrorism on EU decision-making
Excerpt from the Book
6.2.4 Security Policy
In regard to security policy the EU, in response to the “Arab Spring”, in its plan for a revisioned Neighbourhood Policy, stated that it plans to intensify security cooperation in its neighbourhood. As due to the “Arab Spring” a number of countries in the EU’s neighbourhood faced security challenges, the EU saw its geopolitical and security interest in the region affected by the instability (EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2011a).
In Egypt the EU lobbied for fair and free elections to enable the implementation of a stable, democratic government. The EU expressed deep concern over the violence and unrest which took place in Egypt before the first round of elections. Thus to implement these fair elections this the EEAS sent two electoral experts two assess the conduction of the 2012 presidential elections, which it found to be fair and free (EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2013a).
The data concerning the arms trades between the EU member states and Egypt, illustrated in Figure 6, depict a clear rise in TIV trade numbers from 2009/2010 to 2013 rising from 9 in 2009/2010 to 144 in 2013. This rise in arms trades is also illustrated through the linear trend line. This rise strongly supports the argument for a closer security relationship between the EU’s members and Egypt, which subsequently supports the argument for a stronger security bond between the EU itself and Egypt. This arguably speaks for a strong support of the democratically elected Egyptian government by the EU as it seems unlikely these actors would send such big amounts of arms to a government they saw unfavourably.
Summary of Chapters
1 The “Arab Spring” and the European Union: Provides an introduction to the Arab Spring and outlines the EU’s geographic, security, and economic interests in the Mediterranean region.
2 Literature Review: Situates the thesis within existing scholarly debates regarding the EU's role in the Mediterranean and identifies the research gap regarding long-term, data-driven analysis of EU-Egypt relations.
3 Methodology: Details the research approach, focusing on the analysis of scholarly literature and "grey literature" (trade data, financial aid, and arms deals) to assess policy changes.
4 The “Arab Spring” in Egypt: Offers essential background on the political developments, timeline, and causes of the Egyptian Revolution and the subsequent rise and fall of political actors.
5 The EU’s External Relations: Explains the institutional framework and policy fields (trade, foreign policy, development, security) that define the EU's external action.
6 EU external relations with Egypt: The core analysis chapter, subdivided into the three phases (before, during, and after) to track changes in policy across the defined dimensions.
7 Reflexion: A critical assessment of the methodology, validity, and limitations of the used data sets and qualitative sources.
8 Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, arguing that the EU consistently prioritized a "stability-security nexus" over democracy promotion throughout all three phases.
Keywords
Arab Spring, European Union, Egypt, External Relations, Security Policy, Democracy Promotion, Realpolitik, Mediterranean, Migration, Economic Cooperation, Foreign Policy, Arms Trade, Stability Partnership, Democratization, Geopolitics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
This work investigates how the European Union adjusted its external relations and foreign policy towards Egypt in response to the political upheavals of the Arab Spring and its aftermath.
What are the central thematic areas covered?
The study focuses on four key pillars of EU policy: trade and economic policy, foreign policy and diplomacy, development policy, and security policy.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to determine if the EU's support for democratic transition was genuine or if it was subservient to broader strategic interests like regional stability and migration control.
Which methodology does the author utilize?
The author uses a dual approach: a literature review to contextualize the work and an empirical analysis of "grey literature," including trade volumes, financial aid data, and SIPRI arms trade indicators.
What constitutes the main body of the work?
The main part of the thesis is structured chronologically, analyzing EU policy towards Egypt before, during, and after the Arab Spring, with specialized chapters for different policy sectors in each phase.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include Arab Spring, EU foreign policy, Egypt, Realpolitik, security-stability nexus, and democracy promotion.
Did the EU change its policy after the 2013 military coup?
The author concludes that while there was an initial phase of hesitation, the EU ultimately returned to "normal mode," prioritizing security and economic stability over criticizing the new authoritarian leadership.
How does the author interpret the EU's "more-for-more" approach?
The author suggests that the "more-for-more" approach largely failed to provide new incentives, essentially offering the same economic support that was already available under the Mubarak regime.
- Quote paper
- Michael McKiney (Author), 2020, Geopolitics of the ArabSpring. The changes in EU external relations with Egypt, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/983513
