ABSTRACT
Long neglected as a region in U.S. strategic calculations, North Africa has taken on added importance not only since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, but also following the popular uprisings in Egypt, one of the main U.S. allies in the region, and in Libya. What are the United States’ interests in North Africa? Is it true that it aims not only at countering terrorism and assisting the countries in the region, but also at countering the growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region? Is it also true that the United States – through various programs, such as the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Millennium Challenge Account – seeks to undermine European initiatives, such as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Barcelona Process), replaced by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in 2008?
