1st Edition
Euro-Mediterranean Relations after the Arab Spring Persistence in Times of Change
The ’Arab Spring’ triggered paradigmatic shifts but, despite these changes, much in the Euro-Mediterranean region remains the same. Utilising ’Logics of Action’, an innovative theoretical framework designed to capture the complexity of political interaction in one of the fastest changing regions in the world, this book discusses developments in the region before and after the Arab Spring that can be characterised by a continuation of the norm. Expert contributors identify patterns of interaction between governmental institutions, economic entrepreneurs, religious groups and other diverse actors that withstood these historical changes and explore why these relationships have proved so robust. Connecting a unique sample of case studies on changing and persistent ’Logics of Action’ within the Euro-Mediterranean space this book provides a pivotal contribution to our understanding of political interaction between North Africa, the Middle East and the European Union. Offering a completely new perspective on the events of the ’Arab Spring’ it identifies something that seems paradoxical at first sight; persistence in times of radical change.
Biography
Jakob Horst is a PhD candidate at the Helmut-Schmidt-University, Hamburg, Germany working on International Relations, Mediterranean politics and the case of Algeria. Annette Jünemann is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Helmut-Schmidt-University, University of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany. Delf Rothe has recently finished his PhD on the securitisation of climate change and is a researcher and lecturer at the Helmut-Schmidt-University, Hamburg, Germany.
’Either/or explanations dominate many academic and public debates on the Middle East. This lack of nuanced analyses is problematic for it underlies many rather static debates on Arab countries before and after the Arab Awakening. Horst, Jünemann and Rothe break with this logic. By focusing on logics of action on the regional (Euro-Mediterranean), national and transnational levels they are able to detect the deeper dynamics of persistence and change at play in Arab politics, on both the structural and actor-related levels. This book is an invaluable must-read for everybody striving to move beyond either/or explanations when discussing persistence and change in Arab politics without getting lost in the transition currently underway.’ Stephan Stetter, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany ’What impresses above all is the common analytical perspective, honed over several years of research collaboration among the contributors. It gives this volume a coherence that existing studies of Euro-Mediterranean relations and the Arab Spring lack. Essential reading for students of Middle East and North African politics and anyone interested in European policy towards the South.’ Richard Gillespie, University of Liverpool, UK
