SJS4- "The New Middle East Will Test Europe"

Source: Serfaty, Simon. "The New Middle East Will Test Europe." Current History, vol. 
     111, no. 743, Mar. 2012, pp. 118-19. 
Author Credentials: Simon Serfaty is a qualified author to discuss this topic as he has an extensive background in international and European studies. He earned a PhD in political science from John Hopkins University and is the Senior Adviser of Europe Program of Center for Strategic and International Studies. Serfaty also was the Director of the Europe Program at CSIS and First Holder of the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy at CSIS. With that, he has taught and lectured many people about his field.

Summary: The article, in summary, discusses how the Middle East and its governments are starting to change, more headed towards democracies, but places like Europe and America are not necessarily ready for those changes. First, the author brings up how Europe is not in a position to support some Middle Eastern countries at the time because Europe itself is not as cohesive and in the best financial situation as it could. Also, Europe sometimes waits for a reaction from the United States first, which might not happen as the US is indecisive about their policies and actions. Surfaty then goes on to explain some roadblocks that Europe faces when Middle Eastern countries start to go through the process, like Europe lacking military strength, EU cohesion, and money to support these movements. Finally, the author goes to talk about the shocks of these turns of government. One major country that he points out is Iran, which has nuclear powers but Europe clashing with the country would not only end poorly battle wise but also the change in oil distribution will shake economic stability. In conclusion, the author weighs possibilities, situations, and consequences of Europe getting involved with the Middle East and its dramatic changes.

Analysis: Overall, the author did a quality job presenting the argument and using many current situations to back up his analysis. Although not many hard facts with numbers are present, the multiple different examples of countries and events that happened show the knowledge of the topic. As there was little to no opinion, the article and author are reliable sources not only for that but having an extensive background in the field of topic for this article as well.