The Arab Spring provided an unprecedented foreign policy dilemma for the European Union and the United States. As the old Arab regimes unravelled, both superpowers were left scrambling and on the sidelines.  

For the European Union, the response to the uprisings were less than harmonious and with the exception of a NATO led intervention in Libya, tepid. The reaction to the Arab Spring demonstrated how foreign policy differences at the member-state level undercut European interests.

“European states were in the lead, but once again Europe was not. Europeans have no collective idea whatsoever of their role as security providers in their own neighbourhood,” said Sven Biscop, Europe in the World Programme Director, in the EU-Washington 2011 Forum debate.  

Likewise, the United States, still reeling from widely unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was hesitant to involve itself too closely in the conflicts. The US had to cope with unpopular sentiment amongst its own citizens, a divided government and a significantly damaged reputation in the Arab world.

“For Mr Obama, it has been crucial to avoid any suspicions being raised of a US leadership role on the ground, be it in Iran or Egypt. It is the protesters who should be leading the process,” said Sebastian Grafe of Heinrich Böll Stiftung in the Forum.

Given their problems on the home front and the disdain for outside intervention by the rebels, the EU and the US have had to strike a delicate balance in the region. They had to figure out how to exert their influence and yet at the same time remain on the sidelines and simply let the revolutions unfold.

“They favoured reform in principle, but they feared the unpredictable consequences of prolonged instability. To cap it all, the western powers’ credibility with the new democrats of the Arab street, after decades spent backing reform in theory while propping up the dictatorships in practice, was almost zero,” said Simon Tisdall of The Guardian.

The Western leaders lack of response to the Arab Spring was due in part to a lack of leverage to intervene as well as divided policy goals in their respective institutions. For Europe the division occurred with different interests at the member-state level, while in the United States President Obama was at odds with Congress over sidestepping their authority. Congress was not happy to be left out of the Libya decision and tried to undercut the President at every corner.

Europe had its own problems with forming a united front on Libya. While NATO pressed forward with the air strikes under the leadership of the United Kingdom and France, Germany and Poland opted not to participate at all.

“Rather than showcasing post-Lisbon EU leadership, European reactions to the Arab Spring were all too familiar as a cacophony of voices from individual European capitals drowned out Brussels-based institutions and personalities,” said Eva Gross of the Institute for European Studies in the EU- Washington Forum.

These divisions and therefore limited involvement in the Arab Spring pose significant questions about future Western endeavors and how the world's two largest economies will work together. The EU's failure to come together and impose a united front will damage its cooperation with Washington. Why would the US work with the EU, where it gets mixed signals, when it could work with the UK?

“Washington should continue to work with national governments who share its approach to tackling the threats of today and tomorrow, and Brussels should simply get out of the way,” said Sally McNamara of the Heritage Foundation.

Until the EU can adopt a truly cohesive foreign policy strategy it will be left on the sidelines again, just as it was for the Arab Spring. The US, however, must address its reputation in the Arab sphere, brought on by years of meddling and a close unwavering relationship with Israel.

“The US is currently facing a tremendous loss of influence in the region. Changing US policy toward authoritarian regimes has been like turning an oil tanker,” Grafe said.

Both the EU and US have significant challenges ahead in dealing with the Middle East, from Iran's nuclear program to Palestine's UN application for statehood. The answer lies in the EU setting aside national interests for the good of Europe and for the US to try again in the region.