The Position of the European Union on the Western Sahara Conflict
The Western Sahara conflict has been embedded in a regional struggle with international implications, involving most of the key regional actors, as well as outside powers seeking to balance their interests with all parties concerned. Thus, the Western Sahara is at the centre of any foreign policy towards the Maghreb region, and this is the case for the European Union, with France and Spain as central actors. For Europe, the historical links with and the proximity of the continent to one of the most unstable regions in the world (the Arab and Muslim worlds) require the closest attention and a strong independent foreign policy. The EU has important strategic and economic interests but also political concerns in the North Africa region. This paper focuses on the evolution of EU policy towards the conflict and the actions taken by the Member States under the influence of the key actors in this issue: France and Spain. It also aims to lay the emphasis upon the limited role of the EU due to a complex policy making-process, as well as the existence of many participants. As will be demonstrated, the weaknesses of the EU foreign policy are not only due to the structure of the Union but also as a result of each state having to defend its own interests and preserve them bilaterally. It will be argued that the conflict resolution, if conducted to its conclusion within the UN framework, would provide the EU with a capacity to resolve conflicts within the international system and an opportunity to affirm its intrinsic external policy, when its overall foreign policy appears scattered if not atomised by the different influences pursued by its member states. Considering the Maghreb's geographical proximity to Europe and the general approach to solving issues at the EU level, this could constitute a breakthrough for an external policy in the making, contrasting with the negligible influence of the EU regarding the Middle East peace process.
THE EUROPEAN UNION'S POSITION ON THE WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT: A BARRIER TO MEDITERRANEAN COOPERATION
In 2008, the Union for the Mediterranean was established by the members of the European Union and the Mediterranean partner countries to turn the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation to guarantee peace, stability and prosperity through the development of common projects. However, the Western Sahara conflict prevents the initiation of common projects between Morocco and Algeria and also puts at risk common projects in the entire Maghreb region. This article aims to explain why the European Union, despite its significant leverage on Morocco through strong economic relations and the European Neighborhood Policy’s financial contributions, prefers to remain inactive in solving the Western Sahara conflict. It is argued that the European Union’s inactivity is due to the policies of France, the United States and Spain on the Western Sahara conflict. France and the United States support the Moroccan autonomy plan on account of their strategic interests in Morocco and North Africa, and for the same reasons, Spain pursues a balanced policy that suits Moroccan interests. The European Union neither wants to upset these member states nor the United States by intervening in the conflict and putting diplomatic pressure on Morocco. Therefore, the European Union has adopted an inactive position on the Western Sahara conflict that seriously hinders Mediterranean cooperation efforts under the Union for the Mediterranean.
The Meaning of Wisdom in James: Examination of a Hypothesis
The following essay is an attempt to examine the manner in which the writer of the Epistle of James uses the concept of Wisdom; and to study the suggestion that the way in which he uses it is more or less interchangeable with that in which other writers of the New Testament use the concept of the Holy Spirit.