The “Arab Spring” presents many shadows which are not yet easy to decipher. The same uncertainty seems to surround the roles supposedly played by the Barcelona Process and European conditionality in relation to the democratic destinies of the South Mediterranean countries. While it is not uncommon for transitologists to recognize the weight of external interference in the conduct of democratic transitions, it would be naive to consider that the current democratization in the Arab world is the result of the conditionality of the European Union (EU).

This text is intended as a contribution to the evaluation of the policies and instruments mobilized by the EU to promote the values ​​of democracy and the rule of law in the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC).