Between a rock and a hard place: Euro-Mediterranean security revisited

Abstract:

The study of the EU's relations with its near abroad is increasingly important in the wake of the 2004 enlargement of the Union because it directly relates to the question whether the EU might help to foster peace and stability in its neighbourhood. Euro-Mediterranean relations are highly interesting in this regard since the EU has a rather long, but not entirely successful, history of trying to promote security and cooperation in its southern vicinity. In this article the Regional Security Complex Theory, developed by Buzan and Waever (2003), is applied to shed new light on security aspects of Euro-Mediterranean relations. The article's main argument is that the 'ups and downs' of Euro-Mediterranean security cooperation is better understood if the Mediterranean is not considered as a region in itself but rather as a link between two separated regional security complexes.