Re-thinking Western Policies in Light of the Arab Uprising

Abstract:

The upheavals in many states of the Arab world have shaken the grounds that long upheld regimes, which have either lost power, have been pushed into reforms or are still fortressing against change. The uprisings have also laid bare the unsustainability of the West’s approach to the region. With stability at the very top of their agendas, the transatlantic partners too often gave preference to authoritarian regimes and neglected opposition and civil society. The result is that they placed their bets on the wrong actors for many years.

Now confronted with unexpected revolutionary changes in both North Africa and the Middle East, the United States and the European Union urgently need to reformulate their approaches to the Arab world. With a view to discussing the potential transatlantic cooperation in the region, the 2011 edition of IAI’s Transatlantic Security Symposium brought together experts from the US, Europe, and North Africa. This report contains the main points debated during the Symposium.