The EU and Islamist parties in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab uprisings: A story of selective engagement

Voltolini, Benedetta; Colombo, Silvia

doi:10.1080/13629395.2017.1358901

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This is due, first, to security considerations, particularly prominent in the Egyptian case where more pressing terrorist threats, combined with the failure of the Muslim Brotherhood's experience, have pushed the EU to prioritize stability and security over democracy. Second, the engagement with the new elites in Tunisia compared to Egypt shows a differentiation in the EU attitude, as En-Nahda pushed the EU to revise its understanding of political Islam and the possibility to engage with some Islamist CSOs and parties, whereas the same does not occur in Egypt, because of both MB behaviour and the coup (see Voltolini & Colombo, 2017). Thus, the EU perceives engaging with Tunisia as less risky for security and stability than in Egypt -demonstrating the EU's inter-country differentiation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A notable aspect of change in the EU attitude concerns fear of Islamist groups, long considered as a monolith. With the changes, we see a better understanding of the various Islamist groups that exist (see Voltolini & Colombo, 2017). Despite its earlier fears of an Islamist party in power, the EU has coordinated with the En-Nahda party and its attitude is positive and cooperative.…”

Section: Materials Means Of Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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EU democracy promotion and the dominance of the security–stability nexus

Dandashly

2017

Mediterranean Politics

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The article analyses the EU's approach for democracy promotion in Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of the Arab uprisings. Contrary to arguments that focus either on the EU institutions and member states or on the domestic policies of the targeted countries and see the post-2010 EU democracy promotion strategies as a continuation of previous programs, the article follows a more eclectic approach. By considering changes both at the EU and the international level, it argues that the EU appears as a pragmatic yet more flexible and reactive international actor. After 2010, the EU frames for democracy promotion have changed and are differentiated in the two MENA countries. Crucial to this cognitive change is the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) and the role that domestic elites have played in the two case studies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials Means Of Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

EU democracy promotion and the dominance of the security–stability nexus

Dandashly

2017

Mediterranean Politics

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“…This differential engagement is attributed to the persistent influence of a traditional interpretation of the security-stability nexus in terms of hard security and regime stability as well as the reaction of partners in the two countries. In contrast, and with reference to Islamist political parties, Voltolini and Colombo (2017) show that the EU's interpretation of the security-stability nexus, interpreted in terms of threats to EU ontological security, has partially changed in the wake of the Arab uprisings. By differentiating between various forms of political Islam, the EU has started to engage with Ennahda in Tunisia, while its engagement with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has been less successful.…”

Section: Outline Of the Special Issuementioning

confidence: 89%

Framing and reframing the EU’s engagement with the Mediterranean: Examining the security-stability nexus before and after the Arab uprisings

Roccu

Voltolini

2017

Mediterranean Politics

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EU policies towards the Southern Mediterranean after the Arab uprisings are predominantly seen in the literature as marked by continuity with the past. This is attributed to the fact that the EU still acts with the aim of maximising its security by preserving stability in the region. By examining a range of policy areas, this special issue aims to assess and qualify this claim. Its introduction outlines our case on both empirical and analytical grounds. Empirically, it is argued that we need to offer a more detailed analysis of each specific policy area to assess the extent of continuity and change. Analytically, this introduction proposes a framework that focuses on processes of frame definition and frame enactment to explain change and continuity in the EU's approach. More specifically, security, stability and the link between them-the security-stability nexus-are considered as the master frame shaping the EU's approach towards the Southern Mediterranean. This is enacted along two dimensions: the modalities of EU engagement with Southern Mediterranean partners; and the range of actors engaged.

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“…Kourtelis (2018) illustrates this point in socioeconomic terms in relation to EU strategies for rural development in the Arab Mediterranean. In the political field, Voltolini and Colombo (2018) point to some pernicious implications of the EU's engagement with Islamist parties that rebranded themselves as Muslim democrats to be acceptable to European partners, but which in doing so distanced themselves from some of their main domestic constituencies.…”

Section: Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentring Norms in EU Relations with the Southern Neighbourhood

Keukeleire

Lecocq

Volpi

2020

J of Common Market Studies

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The EU's external promotion of norms and the idea of normative power Europe itself are increasingly contested, which is especially true in the EU's southern neighbourhood. However, whereas scholars of EU foreign policy acknowledge the contestation of external norms, they find it difficult to understand why other normative frameworks could be equally or more appealing to Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries, as they entail norms that are less prominent in the Western catalogue of liberal values. To facilitate the detection and analysis of a wider set of norms, we situate them along several continua of norm orientations and apply this framework to the EU's southern neighbourhood. EU foreign policy scholars can then examine whether different norms overlap or compete or are complementary or even incompatible, and the extent to which values promoted by European actors are congruent with normative frameworks in the MENA region.

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The EU and Islamist parties in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab uprisings: A story of selective engagement

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

EU democracy promotion and the dominance of the security–stability nexus

EU democracy promotion and the dominance of the security–stability nexus

Framing and reframing the EU’s engagement with the Mediterranean: Examining the security-stability nexus before and after the Arab uprisings

Decentring Norms in EU Relations with the Southern Neighbourhood

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