ABSTRACT
After the chaos in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) occurred in 2010, the EU demonstrated its tough diplomatic attitude and its “hard power” to the world. The EU’s policy on the MENA in the Arab Spring has changed the world’s perception of it as a “civil power.” The situation in Syria was alleviated in 2017. With the military assistance of Russia, Iran, and Lebanon Hezbollah, the Syrian Assad government reversed the passive situation on the battlefield, regaining a large amount of lost land and compressing the opposition forces to a narrow area along the coast. Russia’s role in dealing with the Syria issue has grown dramatically; in contrast, the United States and Europe have fallen into “insurgency” since 2016, and they were too busy to invest more in increasing their influence in Syria and the MENA.
