Commentary
Richard Youngs
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"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
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"collections": [
"Europe’s Southern Neighborhood"
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Source: Getty
Other
The EU’s Geopolitical Crossroads in the Middle East
The EU should tailor its Middle East policies to European strategic interests, while avoiding an excessive focus on stability over reform.
Published on Mar 12, 2015
Source: FRIDE
As violence and instability spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, the European Union recognises its failings in this region. The EU is currently reviewing its strategy towards its neighbours, and there are growing calls for the Union to develop a more geopolitical approach to protecting its strategic interests in the Middle East. A commitment to mould EU policies to the geopolitical complexities of the Middle East would be welcome – and indeed long overdue. But the challenge for European policymakers will be to give EU policies a more strategic edge without excessively focusing on stability over political reform.About the Author
Richard Youngs
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Richard Youngs is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, based at Carnegie Europe. He works on EU foreign policy and on issues of international democracy.
- The EU Needs a Third Way in Iran
- European Democracy Support Annual Review 2025Paper
- +6
Richard Youngs, ed., Elena Viudes Egea, Zselyke Csaky, …
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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