The origins of the post-Cold War order in the Middle East : France, Britain, the European Community and transatlantic relations, 1978-1982

This thesis focuses on Western Europe's diplomatic engagement in the Middle East between 1978 and 1982 and shows how and why the member states of the European Community (EC) decided to launch their first diplomatic initiative outside of the European continent. To do so, it uses as a case study the European Council declaration of 13 June 1980, which called for the recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination and the association of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to the peace process. It starts the analysis from a detailed study of both French and British Middle East policy in the late 1970s, which then informs the analysis of a collective European foreign policy towards the region. Because the definition of Middle East policies in Western Europe during the Cold War era were heavily dependent on the Americans, this dissertation systematically embeds European actions within the larger context of transatlantic relations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This dissertation argues that, contrary to what the literature has so far assumed, at the time, the Community's primary objectives was not to promote peace between Arabs and Israeli, but to contribute to the rebuilding of the Western security framework in the Middle East. It reveals that the Europeans managed to go beyond declaratory diplomacy and play a significant role in the international politics of the region. And, finally, it demonstrates that by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Community was much more than an economic entity and, in fact, had a significant political component. Ultimately, it reaches the conclusion that the Europeans played a significant role in the Middle East in the early 1980s, and that they helped shape the post-Cold War order in the region.