Defense Diplomacy and the Arab Spring
New Ventures and the French Presence in the Persian Gulf
The year 2011 was marked by a wave of Arab Springs that collapsed several regimes. Western countries did not anticipate this “black swan” and now have to revise their thinking about the Middle East. These forces, encouraged by different sources of popular support, have transformed a society once considered fossilized. Because of these uprisings, which are shaking Arab governments, the French presence in this region undoubtedly takes on a new dimension. Particularly well established in the Arab world, France must now reposition its external policy. In this respect, the defensive diplomacy that it has used in the Persian Gulf deserves reexamination.