This chapter argues that the notion of resilience in EU foreign policy towards its southern ‘near abroad’ is unsettled and continues to undergo a seemingly endless process of reconceptualisation. Accordingly, the chapter treats resilience not only as a work-in-progress. It also considers the concept as a discursive means through which the EU attempts to disguise its struggle to come to terms with the multifaceted fallouts of instability in the Southern Neighbourhood, and to downplay its recently concluded shift from transformative to status quo-oriented aspirations. Accordingly, it is argued that the elusiveness of resilience as a guiding rationale in EU-southern neighbourhood relations, together with ensuing inconsistencies in the practical pursuit of resilience currently renders the EU ill-equipped to enhance stabilisation in the Southern Neighbourhood.
Cite as: Badarin, E., Schumacher, T. (2020). The EU, Resilience and the Southern Neighbourhood After the Arab Uprisings. In: Cusumano, E., Hofmaier, S. (eds) Projecting Resilience Across the Mediterranean. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23641-0_4
