Foreign Policy of the European Union towards the Arab Uprisings

Abstract

The emergence of the Arab Uprisings started a regional transformation and led to changes of the policies of the regional and external actors. Although the EU had close economic and political relations with the regional actors, the EU, like many other actors, was caught unprepared against the regional upheaval. The EU’s wait-and-see policy and cautious steps towards different cases of the Arab Uprisings increased criticisms against the EU as a normative power and global actor. Due to lack of cooperation for determining and implementing a common foreign policy especially in case of surprising events and the diverging interests of the EU member states, the EU could not play a leading role during the Arab Uprisings. Therefore, the low performance of the EU meant a missed opportunity in its neighborhood. Additionally, the EU had to encounter new problems stemming from the Uprisings such as influx of refugees and increase in terrorist actions. This article will qualitatively analyze the foreign policy of the EU towards the different cases of the Arab Uprisings by using the research method of process tracing.

Keywords

• Arab Uprisings
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Normative Power
• Global Actor

Avrupa Birliği’nin Arap İsyanlarına Yönelik Dış Politikası

Öz

Arap İsyanlarının ortaya çıkışı bölgesel bir değişim ve dönüşümü ortaya çıkardı ve bölgesel ve küresel aktörlerin politikalarının değişmesine yol açtı. Avrupa Birliği bölgesel aktörlerle yakın ekonomik ve siyasi ilişkilere sahip olmasına rağmen Avrupa Birliği de diğer birçok aktör gibi bölgesel ayaklanmalara hazırlıksız yakalandı. Avrupa Birliği’nin farklı ülkelerdeki Arap İsyanlarına yönelik izlediği bekle-gör politikası ve temkinli adımları, normatif bir güç ve küresel bir aktör olarak Avrupa Birliği’ne karşı eleştirilerin artmasına sebep oldu. Avrupa Birliği üyesi ülkeler arasındaki çıkar çatışmaları ve özellikle beklenmeyen olaylara yönelik ortak bir dış politika belirleme ve uygulama anlamındaki işbirliğinin eksikliği nedeniyle Avrupa Birliği, Arap İsyanları sürecinde öncü bir rol oynayamadı. Bunun aynı zamanda Avrupa Birliği’nin göstermiş olduğu düşük performans nedeniyle kendisine komşu olan bir bölgede kaçırdığı bir fırsat olduğu söylenebilir. Dahası, Avrupa Birliği mülteci akını ve terörist eylemlerdeki artış gibi Arap İsyanları kaynaklı yeni problemlerle yüzleşmek zorunda kaldı. Bu makale, Arap İsyanlarının farklı ülkelerdeki yansımalarına yönelik AB dış politikasını süreç izleme (süreç takibi) araştırma yöntemini kullanarak niteliksel olarak analiz edecektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Arap İsyanları
• Avrupa Birliği
• Dış Politika
• Normatif Güç
• Küresel Aktör

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