ABSTRACT
The triumph of Islamist parties in a string of post ‘Arab Spring’ elections from
Morocco to Egypt has been greeted with mixed feeling in European capitals. While
some have welcomed them as confirmation that Islam and democracy are
compatible, others remain squeamish about the impact of an ‘Islamist winter’
on individual liberties and regional stability in the neighbourhood. As a foreign
policy actor, the EU has always faced a dilemma when dealing with Islamist move-
ments and actors. Divisions in EU foreign policy concerning Islamism have often
been just as bitter as divisions about the role of Islam in domestic politics, and not
infrequently these two have come to reflect on each other, as with French fears over
the domestic impact of the Algerian civil war or with the anti-Islamic policies of the
Dutch Freedom Party.
