France, Germany and Europe's Middle East dilemma: The impact of national foreign policy traditions on Europe's Middle East policy

The dissertation investigates the different foreign policy traditions France and Germany have developed vis-a-vis the Middle East and the impact of these traditions on EU foreign policy-making in the region. The paired comparison is framed around the dichotomy between 'stabilization' and 'democratization'---supporting autocratic Arab regimes or promoting democratic change. The dissertation shows that during the Cold War France and Germany have followed different foreign policy trajectories in the Middle East; while France embraced stabilization, Germany has been more favorable of democratization. This contrast can be understood in terms of competing threat perceptions and policy 'roles' that determine what each country hopes to achieve or to avoid in the Middle East and how they see their part in accomplishing these goals. Since the end of the Cold War threat perceptions and policy roles have began to change in both countries as a result of various domestic and geopolitical changes. The result has been a gradual convergence of French and German policies in the region, enabling a more coherent and successful European policy.