CIAO Focus, May 2012: The Arab Spring and the West

The Arab spring is a transition away from the long alliance between the West and the moderate Arab states, as well as a transition of these states from being more or less passive clients of the US and the West to more or less vibrant democracies with an assertive agenda in the region. The Western countries, while in principle welcoming the possibility of new democracies emerging in the region, reaped enormous advantage from their association with the previous regimes and do not seem prepared to deal with the new democracies' more assertive agenda. But, as Western countries will be unable and unwilling to oppose this agenda, they should proceed with reshuffling their international objectives and policies to make a dialogue with these new democracies possible. In this perspective, an important stumbling block could be the Palestinian issue and the role of a growing chauvinist Israel in the region. Ironically, Western countries have done less than nothing in the past years to solve the problem and still look unprepared to take action. They have spoken of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and North Africa as an opportunity. But, in reality, things are more complicated. If they do not change their course, the Arab spring could become not only a lost opportunity, but also a source of new tensions.

Roberto Aliboni
The International Spectator

From the CIAO Database: