ABSTRACT
The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) have been slow and uncertain in their reactions to the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Indeed, there has been a great deal of strategic confusion from the transatlantic partners, as events have outpaced policymakers’ ability to produce cohesive strategies. Compounding this is the complexity of national interests that both the US and the EU have in the region. Whilst democracy promotion has been seen as a pragmatic national interest, which was most prominently expressed
∗Email: o.a.hassan@warwick.ac.uk
Lavenex, Sandra, and Frank Schimmelfennig. “EU Democracy Promotion in the Neighbourhood: From Leverage to Governance?” Democratization 18, no. 4 (2011): 885-909.
