THE SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLES CONTRIBUTORS ABOUT THE JOURNAL
Enduring differences? France, Germany and Europe's Middle Eastern Dilemma by Timo Behr Abstract In an attempt to explain Europe's lack of influence and policy inconsistency in the Middle East, European foreign policy literature has consistently pointed towards the existence of a democratization-stabilization dilemma. According to this explanation, EU long-term interests in a more democratic region have been consistently subordinated to short-term preferences for security and regime stability. The outcome has regularly been a lack of vision and consistency. This article will attempt to question this explanation, by demonstrating that European vacillation has not been informed by a static competition between realist and idealist approaches, but different national foreign policy traditions that are based on divergent views of identity, interests and threats. Analyzing continuity and change in French and German Middle East policy, the article will also argue that a solution of the democratization-stabilization dilemma remains close at hand.
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