Naivety in Spades
The following article has appeared in the NZ Herald:
Arab Spring Spiralling into Gloom
By Catherine Field
NZ Herald
Europe is battling a mix of alarm and gloom as it eyes the post-revolutionary crisis in North Africa, concluding that its early plans to steer the region on to the path of prosperity and democracy are dead.
Policymakers are bracing for years of turmoil in Egypt and Libya, although the outlook for Tunisia is more optimistic, and sense that Europe will have to play a longer and more strategic game, say analysts. "We are witnessing a revolutionary process, and this will take at least a decade," says Karim-Emile Bitar of the Institute for Strategic and International Relations (IRIS) in Paris. "When you talk about a revolutionary process, you are talking about revolution, counter-revolution, attempts to hijack the revolution - and this is exactly what is happening right now." . . .
