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Europe, USA and Middle East

12/06/2008 By Mariano Aguirre

El Presidente de Líbano, Michel Sleiman y Nicolás Sarkozy. (GERARD CERLES/AFP/Getty Images)

The opening of negotiations between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights and the appointment of a new president in Lebanon are both important political developments for the Middle East. But despite these facts, the region remains devastated by conflicts that demand an urgent change in the policies of both the United Status and the European Union. Forthcoming events in 2009, in both the US and the EU, open certain possibilities.

After eights years of blunders in the Middle East, the new US presidency will have an opportunity. There is a generalised consensus that the country has lost influence and legitimacy in the region thanks to the invasion of Iraq and the failure of the war there, not to mention its unconditional support for Israel, and a democracy promotion project which amounted to supporting allied regimes and boycotting any elections won by Islamist parties.

Mariano Aguirre argues that Europe and the US could collaborate in helping states to reform. They must, however, take on board the complexity of a region which is bound by its colonial history, the demands on its energy resources, migration, terrorism, and political and commercial relations.

 


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Keywords

Civil society Democracy promotion EU Foreign Policy European Union Israel Middle East Peace Political Reform Syria United States

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Bio author: Mariano Aguirre

Mariano Aguirre is Director of the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre in Oslo, and a fellow of the Transnational Institute. Former Director of Peace, Security and Human Rights at FRIDE.