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Syria's Uprising: sectarianism, regionalisation, and state order in the Levant

Steven Heydemann — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

As the Syrian revolution enters its third year, the risks to regional stability are escalating. Violence has spilled over all of Syria's borders. The conflict has elevated sectarian tensions in Lebanon, threatening the 1990 Taif settlement that ended 15 years of civil war. It has sharpened ethnic and sectarian frictions in Iraq and engulfed southern Turkey. It has heightened tensions across the Syrian-Israeli border. Violence has also spilled into Syria from across the region. Regional involvement in the conflict is deepening. Syrian refugees, now numbering more than a million, are straining the economies and the social fabric of receiving countries. This paper addresses the implications of the regionalisation of Syria’s conflict and the challenges it presents to the stability of the post-Ottoman state order in the Levant.

The EU in Asia’s alphabet soup

Gauri Khandekar — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

With a growing power shift towards Asia, it is essential to understand the hybrid regional architecture evolving in the region. There is also a need to evaluate how the EU engages within various Asian fora. This policy brief looks at the vulnerabilities and pertinence of the evolving Asian regional architecture, and offers an insight on how the EU could enhance its engagement in the region.

Spanish foreign policy monitor: January-March 2013

Alejandro Barón — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

The military intervention in Mali, negotiations on a new law concerning Spanish external action and services and the eurozone crisis have dominated the Spanish foreign policy agenda in the first quarter of 2013. At the same time, several corruption scandals have damaged Spain’s dwindling international image. On a positive note, however, the country registered an increase in exports and performed well in the negotiations for the 2014-2020 European Multiannual Framework.

The EU’s global climate and energy policies: gathering momentum?

Richard Youngs — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

The European Union’s global energy and climate policies have gathered impressive momentum in the last three years with a series of new documents, including an EU ‘Energy 2020’ strategy, a communication on external energy security, policy documents outlining a reinforced ‘climate diplomacy’, and an ‘Energy Roadmap 2050’ presenting scenarios for the next four decades. The foundations have been laid for a more coherent and proactive international climate and energy strategy, but critical issues remain. The challenge for the EU now is to reconcile tensions between its internal and external policies, as well as between traditional energy security and climate change aims. At present, the return of very traditional approaches to both domestic economic policy and international energy security threatens to subvert EU global climate leadership.

The ‘New Liberals’: can Egypt’s civil opposition save the revolution?

Moataz El Fegiery — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

The Arab spring came as a golden moment for Egypt’s popular, well-prepared Islamists to establish their political influence in the post-revolutionary political order. Two years after the revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood’s legitimacy crisis sets the floor for non-Islamist political forces to fill the emerging vacuum. To emerge as a powerful electoral coalition, members of the new liberal front will inevitably need to make painful compromises on political and economic issues.

Levers for change: the EU and civil society in the Eastern neighbourhood

Aliaksandr Charniakovich — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

The EU’s overarching strategic objective in its Eastern neighbourhood is to ensure a smooth democratic transition by promoting political and economic reform. But change cannot just be exported, it must come from within. The emergence of a strong civil society is key to ensure the achievement of this objective. This paper addresses the relationship between the EU and civil society in the region, focusing on the perceptions of local actors of the EU’s support to democratic reform and security in EaP countries.

Brazil and the EU: partnering on security and human rights?

Susanne Gratius, Giovanni Grevi — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

Both Brazil and the EU are ‘actors in transition’. Despite their different experiences and perceptions, there is scope for the two partners to enhance dialogue on security and human rights. As both actors redefine their position in a fluid international system, cooperation on specific issues is the best way to build confidence in the field and in multilateral settings. Both will increasingly need reliable partners to advance their values and interests on the global stage.

Foreign Funding in Egypt after the Revolution

Mohamed Elagati — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

In the aftermath of Egypt’s revolution, controversies over foreign funding to Egyptian civil society organisations (CSO) have become even more politicised. This has resulted in the prosecution of a number of international and Egyptian NGO workers. Because CSOs are a critical part of the democratic transition, the Egyptian public needs to engage in a transparent debate over the role of foreign funding. As a part of that process, this paper, jointly published by FRIDE, Hivos and the Arab Forum for Alternatives, based on a series of meetings carried out with local stakeholders in Cairo, examines the framework and the perception of foreign funding to NGOs, the media, and political parties in Egypt.

Living with the Middle East’s old-new security paradigm

Richard Youngs — 2013-05-18T09:36:51+01:00

Attention has gradually turned to the geopolitical implications of the Arab spring. It is broadly recognised that ongoing processes of change in the Middle East and North Africa are not just about domestic level political reform but also regional security dynamics. But no strategic framework yet fully captures incipient dynamics in the region. Both the United States and the European Union frequently repeat that they are committed to shaping their policies around local, Arab expectations and views. In the current MENA scenario, the US and the EU must equip themselves to deal with a far more diverse geopolitics.