Old Dogs,New Tricks? The Role of Regional Organizations in the Mediterranean after the Arab Revolts

Taking its point of departure in how specific regional organizations function and interact in the Mediterranean, this article attempts to show to what degree this institutional setup has influenced the developments in the Arab Mediterranean states after the Arab revolts. The analysis of the organizational and institutional setup in the Mediterranean is theoretically founded in the new institutionalism tradition. Furthermore, a regionalism perspective is applied, touching on discussions related to European normative ambitions. It is demonstrated that the regional organizations only to a limited degree have contributed to democratization processes or to democratic consolidation in a post–Arab Spring context, and it is argued that it seems unlikely that these organizations in the future will develop into tools for democratization in the Mediterranean region.