Dialogue with the Mediterranean: The role of NATO’s Mediterranean Initiative

Book abstract:

This work was completed in mid-April 1999 and the preface dated June 1999 acknowledges that a number of significant developments took place in that short period which will have impacted on the future of NATO's Mediterranean Initiative. However the world has moved on since then and whilst the book provides useful background it does not and could not address the issues arising from 11 September 2001 and the consequent 'War on Terrorism'.

Organised over eight chapters - each carrying its own introduction and conclusion - the author then addresses in the final conclusive chapter the prospects for NATO'S Mediterranean Initiative and its crucial dependence upon the ability and capacity of the Israelis and Palestinians to establish a meaningful, peaceful coexistence with one another.

Chapter one seeks to clarify what we understand by 'Mediterranean' and provides an overview of the 'security' situation in the region in the 1990s and emphasises the importance of preventive diplomacy and maintenance of the peace process. The discussion moves in chapter two to explore the importance of dialogue and its capacity for encouraging Confidence Building Measures (CBM) and addresses problems encountered in relations between states north and south of the Mediterranean, between Arab states and Israel, and among Arab states themselves. Chapter three looks at the policy of NATO and individual Member States toward the Mediterranean in the Cold War period. An overview of the political, economic and social problems of North Africa and the Middle East is given in chapters four and five and the significance of non democratic states in the Arab world to the NATO-Mediterranean dialogue is explored. The post-Cold War period saw a shift in focus of NATO policy towards the Mediterranean and a growing awareness that the economic social and political problems in North Africa might have wider negative consequences for the security and stability of the Mediterranean. Chapter six deals with these issues. The evolution of the NATO-Mediterranean dialogue from its beginnings in February 1995 to early 1999 is examined in chapter seven. The role of other dialogues and initiatives concerning the Mediterranean in that period are addressed in chapter eight and the extent to which those activities grapple with the dangers posed by Arab/Israeli conflict.

The work has to be considered in the context of post 9/11 developments. It provides informative insights into the history of mutual suspicion between the parties and NATO's need to develop policies which are sensitive both to domestic political realities within the Arab states and to the progress of relations between Israeli and its neighbours.

The book will interest scholars, students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of international relations, European Middle Eastern politics, and the post-Cold War role of the Atlantic Alliance.