For a long time, democratization in third countries has been on the agenda of Western powers such as the European Union (EU). However, while it was more successful with Central and East European countries, democratization has had limited results in countries further east and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Arab Spring events opened a new reality highlighting the diversity in the region. While some countries liberalized, others were either not affected at all or even strengthened the authoritarian grip of the regime. Even those countries that went through the Arab Spring ended up differently. The current increased political instability in various MENA countries shows the inability of the EU and other international actor not only in the democratization process but also in stabilizing the neighbourhood. The only Arab Spring country that seems to be on right track with respect to democratic transition is Tunisia at the moment. This article seeks to answer the following question: Despite the EU democratization policies in the MENA, why have we seen a different outcome in the various countries? And under what conditions we see political reforms or authoritarian consolidation? Answering these questions, this paper builds on various literature (Levitsky and Way in addition to Tolstrup) to study the conditions under which external actors can influence democratization in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It focuses on external actors’ competing strategies and the domestic veto players.
