Center for Transatlantic Security Studies Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University NATO Partnerships and the Arab Spring: Achievements and Perspectives for the 2012 Chicago Summit By Isabelle FRANÇOIS Different political interests from one international organization to another will remain and continue to create challenges in terms of partnership between organizations. At the same time, these diverging interests may enrich the international community by providing additional options in developing a necessary political settlement to a particular crisis. While diversity is challenging when building consensus, it may prove to be an asset in terms of political settlement. The Libyan crisis may benefit, for instance, from the differences of approach in the African Union and Gulf Cooperation Council. The former was originally amenable to finding a political settlement, which included Qadhafi, while the latter was more inclined to search for a solution that excluded the challenged leader and his entourage. The Libyan crisis and its outcome will ultimately have an impact for both Arabs and Africans alike. Africa has traditionally been a place for long debates in search of consensus, where everyone has a voice and has to be heard…
