Resilience is one of the key concepts introduced in the European Union’s foreign and security lexicon, especially following its inclusion as the main leitmotif of the EU Global Strategy (EUGS). Unveiled by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) Federica Mogherini in late June 2016, the EUGS…
International Relations
The EU-Tunisia Privileged Partnership – What Next?
On 15 May 2018, Tunisia and the European Union (EU) will hold an Association Council meeting where they are expected to adopt partnership priorities, the dedicated framework used since the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2015 in replacement of the former action plan. Since the last Association Council meeting in May 2017, some voices on both sides…
The False Assumptions Fueling America’s Endless War
….Terror Recruitment Fueled by U.S. Military Strikes As part of the war on terror, America has conducted military operations in at least eight Muslim-majority countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Niger. Polling clearly shows the use of U.S. military force has inflamed grievances among Muslims. A survey of 11 Muslim-majority populations, for example, found that more respondents…
How Concerned Are You About Growing Sectarian Divisions?
For international security, the year 2017 was marked – among others – by signs of a continued erosion of the so-called liberal international order and an increasingly unpredictable US foreign policy. Tensions in many parts of the world have been growing: the rhetoric between the US and North Korea has escalated, the rift in the Gulf has become deeper, not…
Threatens a new wave of radicalization?
“In early December 2017, US President Donald Trump announced the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people and state of Israel. With this unexpected move, Trump not only violated the will, the resolutions and the aspirations of the international community, but he also maintained his unconditional support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. Arab states, Islamic countries, European…
Europa ligt maar beter wakker van Tunesië
…In het algemeen wordt Tunesië geroemd als tot nog toe enige succesvol democratisch experiment na de Arabische revoluties. Maar het wordt afwachten hoe de regering nu verder omgaat met de protesten – olie op het vuur of olie op de golven? Uit peilingen blijkt steeds weer dat de Tunesiërs niet tegen hun democratie zijn, maar wel een betere kwaliteit van…
Time to Step Back from the War on Terror
…Several studies, as well as survey data, make it clear that Middle Eastern publics have almost uniformly negative views of American drone strikes, one of the most popular tools of the war on terror. Even worse, the Arab Barometer found that between 53% and 74% of citizens in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, and Algeria felt that U.S. intervention justified…
MENA Populations’ Perceptions of Key Challenges, International Context and Role of the European Union
Survey data from the ArabTrans 2014 survey contains a unique battery of questions pertaining to the perception of the European Union. This report builds on those questions to analyse perceptions of the EU, its development cooperation programmes, its promotion of democracy, the appropriateness of its response to the Arab Uprisings, and the perception of the EU as an international actor….
The Desire for Sovereignty — An Explanation of EU Attitudes in the Arab World
A growing body of survey research shows that the European Union (EU) has a relatively benign image around the world, except among Arab populations. What informs Arab citizens’ sceptical attitudes toward the European Union (EU)? Combining literature on Arab public opinion and perceptions of the EU, we argue that Arab citizens’ feelings about the EU are influenced most prominently by…