Historical institutionalism and foreign policymaking in authoritarian regimes: Egypt–EU relations since the Barcelona Declaration

This article examines Egypt’s foreign policy towards the European Union since the launch of the Barcelona Process in 1995. While research on the foreign policy of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) states has steadily expanded, most analyses either focus on the pre-Arab revolts period or use the main theories of international relations to explain foreign policy strategies. The article employs a historical institutional lens in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of the institutional factors that underpin contemporary foreign policy decisions. Contrary to the belief that in authoritarian regimes, foreign policy decisions are shaped by an unconstrained and unaccountable leadership or by external pressures, the article argues that domestic institutional constraints matter. Long-standing political structures, path dependencies, and critical junctures should also be considered as important factors of foreign policy decision-making in the Arab Mediterranean region.