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Europe, the US and Middle Eastern democracy
22/01/2009 By Tamara Cofman Wittes, Richard Youngs
Tensions between the United States and the European Union since the 2003 war in Iraq affected many arenas of Middle East policy, but perhaps none has come to encapsulate those tensions as much as the quest to advance democracy in the region.
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In this paper, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Richard Youngs look beyond the highly charged, Iraq-related deterioration in the transatlantic relationship in order to assess the real similarities and differences in the two actors’ democracy promotion strategies in the Middle East. The authors suggest several concrete steps that European and American governments should take to build upon their shared strategic framework and thus forge a new partnership on behalf of Arab reform.
If European and American policymakers wish to move beyond the ructions of recent years, they can and should focus on their points of relative similarity as a foundation from which transatlantic cooperation in the Middle East can, cautiously, be built.
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Keywords
European Union Middle EastRelated publications
- Democracy and Security in the Middle East
- Europe: a new role in the Middle East?
- Iraq and after: setting the scene for rethinking Europe's role in the Middle East
- Is Europe adrift in the Middle East?
- The challenges of democratisation and political reform in the Middle East: between autocracy, islamism and liberalism
- The EU and the Middle East Peace Process: Re-engagement?
Bio author: Tamara Cofman Wittes
An expert on Middle East affairs, Tamara Cofman Wittes focuses on U.S. efforts to promote democracy and the Arab-Israeli peace process. She has directed several Middle East research projects, including the Middle East Democracy and Development Project at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
Bio author: Richard Youngs
Democracy promotion. EU foreign policy.
