The issue of democracy has gradually assumed a more prominent place within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP). European policies aimed at encouraging political liberalisation in Arab states have been developed incrementally; processes of limited political reform have occurred in some southern Mediterranean states; and links between political repression and terrorism have been routinely asserted since September 11, 2001. In this light, it is instructive to examine European and Arab perspectives on democracy, and to explore the consequences of such understandings for the evolution of the political pillar of the EMP.