Vincent Durac

Strengthening Authoritarian Rule through Democracy Promotion? Examining the Paradox of the US and EU Security Strategies: The Case of Bin Ali's Tunisia

Since the end of the Cold War, much has been made about the crises that recurrently characterize the transatlantic relationship. Since the attacks of September 11th and the war in Iraq, such a crisis, according to many, has developed into a fully-fledged rift, which is beyond repair. The different views and policies of the US and EU in the Middle East are usually held as a paradigmatic example of the differences that exist between the two actors. The paper challenges this assumption and argues that the transatlantic rift, once the rhetoric is set aside, is not as deep as many suggest. In fact, through an in-depth analysis of how the democracy-promotion policies on the EU and the US are implemented, the paper shows that they are attempting to achieve similar objectives, under similar constraints and suffer from similar contradictions and shortcomings. The paper investigates such policies in the context of Tunisia, a country which, at least theoretically, should be moving forward towards democracy given the pro-democracy environment in which it operates.

Civil society and democratization in the Arab world : the dynamics of activism

Introduction 1. Civil Society in the Arab world 2. Associational Life under Authoritarian Constraints 3. Algeria 4. Morocco 5. Jordan 6. Yemen 7. Lebanon 8. The Dynamics of Civic Activism in the Arab World

The impact of external actors on the distribution of power in the Middle East: the case of Egypt

Both formally and rhetorically, the policy position of the United States and the European Union is to support movement towards democratic political change in the Middle East. This article examines the democracy-promotion polices of both actors in relation to Egypt, with particular reference to the political changes that have taken place in that country since 2005. It concludes that, far from promoting democratic change in Egypt, Western policies have had the apparently paradoxical, and unintended, effect of supporting the entrenchment of an authoritarian political order, and offers an analysis of how and why this is so.

Yemen's Arab Spring – Democratic Opening or Regime Maintenance?

Yemens revolt of 2011, like its counterparts in Tunisia and Egypt, raises many questions about recent analysis of authoritarianism in the Arab world. The long-standing regime of Ali Abdullah al-Saleh and his General Peoples Congress (GPC) party seemed to represent a classic case of authoritarian upgrading. The surprisingly open political system in Yemen, which followed the emergence of the new state in 1990, masked the extent to which the president exerted control through a network of informal alliances and, in recent years, external support and patronage. The widespread and persistent protests against the regime which led ultimately to a handover of power to Salehs vice-president and the formation of a government of national unity between the GPC and the opposition, seem to constitute yet another set of challenges to the theses of authoritarian upgrading and Arab hostility to democracy. However, the narrative of popular protest leading to the demise of a reviled authoritarian regime received a setback as the Yemeni situation developed. The protest movement, which emerged, in the first instance, from outside established centres of political activity, was quickly overtaken and marginalized both by the established parties of opposition and by tribal actors. While Salehs exit from office represents a major rupture in Yemeni political life, the future is best read in terms of the reassertion of pre-existing political dynamics, both domestic and international rather than in hopeful but unfounded expectations of democratic transformation.

Protest movements and political change: an analysis of the 'Arab uprisings' of 2011

Abstract The Arab uprisings of 2011 challenge received wisdom concerning Arab political dynamics. The character of the movements at the heart of the revolts, and the speed with which they despatched four autocratic leaders from office, raise questions of the most basic kind about the relationship between ruler and ruled in North Africa and the Middle East. This article explores such questions following events in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. It argues that the closure of political systems combined with socio-economic distress to stimulate broad demands for regime change. New movements mobilised largely without formal institutional structures, using new communication tools, and evaded the repressive apparatus of the state. However, the novel character of these movements limited their potential to exploit the political openings they created. Indeed, the post-revolutionary setting is one in which the dominant theme is the return of the ‘old’: established elites, including Islamists, who are reasserting their interests and are well-positioned to secure advantage.

Social movements, protest movements and cross-ideological coalitions – the Arab uprisings re-appraised

This article explores the utility of social movement theory, reviewing conceptual developments and its application to Middle East cases before examining its relevance to the Arab uprisings. The initial youth-led new social movements were non-ideological, leaderless, and lacking in clear organizational structures. As the protest movements spread, they grew to encompass a diverse array of other movements and actors: The breadth and diversity of these coalitions made the successful achievement of their core demands for regime change possible. However, the persistence of ideological cleavages within them made agreement on the post-regime change political order near impossible.

Diverging or converging dynamics? EU and US policies in North Africa – an introduction

According to a number of scholars of international relations, the transatlantic relationship is going through a very significant and possibly irreversible crisis. It is claimed that the different reactions of the United States and the European Union to both September 11th and the war in Iraq were the catalyst for a rift that had been deepening for some time, leading to competition between the two actors. The literature on the foreign policy of the US and the EU in the Middle East and North Africa also points to this rift in order to explain the seemingly contradictory policies that the two actors implement in the region, with the US being more forceful in its attempts to export democracy and in supporting Israel while the EU adopts a less confrontational attitude and is perceived to be more friendly to the Palestinians. This article, which introduces a special issue on the nature of US and EU foreign policies in North Africa, argues on the contrary that the transatlantic rift does not really exist. While there are certainly differences in discourse and policies, both the EU and the US share the same concerns and have similar strategic objectives in the region, leading the two actors towards cooperation and division of labour rather than confrontation.

The Joint Meeting Parties and the Politics of Opposition in Yemen

The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) is an alliance of opposition political parties in Yemen. It was established in 2002 and has survived, despite the divergent ideologies of its component parties, to present an apparently substantial challenge to the longstanding rule of President Ali Abdullah al-Salih and his General Peoples Congress party (GPC). This contribution explores the impact of the JMP on Yemeni political life. The present study locates the alliance within the literature on electoral alliances in the Middle East. It then examines the origins and ideologies of the major political parties in Yemen, with a particular focus on those forming part of the JMP. The study concludes with a critical appraisal of the JMP, arguing that despite its unexpected survival, the alliance is characterised by internal division and caution, best exemplified in its relationship with the Yemeni protest movement of early 2011, which bypassed the JMP even as the alliance sought to capitalise on its achievements.

Politics and governance in the Middle East

1. Introduction 2. The Arab Awakening 3. The Historical and Political Context 4. Social Structures and Social Development 5. Political Economy 6. Institutions, Parties and Elections 7. Religion and Politics 8. Civil Society and Political Change 9. Gender and Politics 10. The Military, Security and Conflict 11. The Middle East and the Wider World 12. After the Awakening

Counterterrorism and democracy: EU policy in the Middle East and North Africa after the uprisings

Abstract This paper explores European Union (EU) counterterrorism (CT) policy in relation to the Southern Mediterranean in the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings. A number of themes may be observed in the recent literature on Euro-Mediterranean relations. Firstly, the rhetoric of the EU repeatedly lays stress on its commitment to democracy and human rights. However, secondly, and equally repeatedly, the actions (or inaction) of the Union in its dealings with Southern Mediterranean regimes demonstrate that when the perceived security interests of the EU or its member states are threatened by its normative commitments, concern for the latter is readily sacrificed. Thus, while the formal responses of the EU to the Arab Uprisings have, once more, invoked its concern to promote economic development and build democracy, critics have focused on their incoherence as reflecting an underlying concern to restore the pre-2011 ‘stability’ that characterized the region. This framing of the core interests and priorities of the Union carries through to its CT policy and practices with respect to the Southern Mediterranean, and determines the nature of its engagement with key actors in the region in ways that carry the potential for counter-productive outcomes.