Between Opportunity and Threat: V4 and the Aftermath of the Arab Spring
Between Opportunity and Threat: V4 and the Aftermath of the Arab Spring

Author(s): Zora Hesová
Subject(s): Diplomatic history, International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: AMO – Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky
Keywords: V4 diplomacy; Arab spring; EU’s soft power;
Summary/Abstract: Despite calls for V4 coordination towards the Mediterranean, no concertation among the V4 countries has developed. This has had at least two negative consequences. A clear stance on human rights issues was one of the most absent political instruments, weakening EU’s soft power in ensuing media coverage of the crisis. V4 countries have missed an opportunity to promote a diplomatic agenda within the EU to which they otherwise ascribed. Secondly, a lacking coordination towards the Mediterranean results in change of public perception of the region. Former region of opportunity has turned into a region of threat. Warnings about a spill-over to Europe in case of unsuccessful transitions became a reality, exceeding the most pessimist expectations. The refugee crisis and the development of criminal smuggling networks reaching from Egypt and Turkey through the Balkans to the V4 countries represent an acute security threat and a peril for liberal order within the V4 countries themselves.

• Details
• Contents