Syria-EU Relations During the Civil War (2011 – 2019): Evidence of Europe’s Declining Role in the Middle East

The article examines relations between the European Union and Syria during the Civil War in its active period (2011 – 2019). It argues that the EU was unable to actively influence the conflict’s outcome which is evidence of the Union’s declining influence in the Middle Eastern region in general. Its actions against the Syrian government posed no significant threat to Bashar Al-Assad’s regime nor was it possible for the EU to drastically alter that approach. As a consequence, other centres of power took the lead in shaping the conflict’s outcome. This was due to a liberal foreign policy approach of the European Union which proved ineffective in a high intensity conflict where hard power plays a decisive role. Thus, the article takes careful scrutiny of bilateral relations comparing the liberal approach against a realist perspective. Analysis is based mainly on European Union official documents.