In the wake of September 11, the European Union proclaimed a new commitment to encouraging processes of political liberalization in the Middle East, and a plethora of initiatives were introduced to that end. Richard Youngs offers a thorough analysis of the policies actually followed by the EU - by national governments, as well as collectively - in the intervening several years. Drawing on official documents and extensive interviews with key policymakers, Youngs assesses EU policies implemented throughout the Middle East: in Iraq, the Maghreb and Mashreq, the Palestinian Territories, the Gulf states, and Turkey. His analysis sheds light not only on the EU's strengths and weaknesses as an international actor, but also on the impact of external factors on political change and on the hotly debated topic of the relationship between democracy and security.