The uprising in Tunisia and Egypt had taken most European countries by surprise. For a long time they had considered North African regimes as stable and their authoritarian rulers as “friends”. Despite their commitment to democracy promotion, the support for the protesters came late. Once they stepped in, they trusted rather in their bilateral relations than finding a common response to the “Arab Spring”. France has been one of the main sponsors of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and is a case in point to explore the role of Europe in the Arab Spring. Our 11th CTTC will discuss the following questions: What have been the strongpoints and the shortcomings of cooperation in the past? What are the options to improve the cooperation after the revolution? How shall the EU and its member states deal with the current political situation in Egypt?

Dr. habil. Johannes M. Becker teaches at Philipps-Universität Marburg and is the coordinator of the Center for Conflict Research. He specialises on civil-military relations, French-German relations and Europe’s external relations.

Dr. Yasmine Farouk is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Cairo University and heads the Civil Society Unit at the Social Contract Center. She obtained her PhD at Science Po Paris on the foreign policy of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

The debate will be chaired by Dr. Jan Völkel, DAAD lecturer in Political Science at Cairo University.

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