The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and Its Contribution to Democracy Promotion and Crisis Management

Abstract:

One of the main functions of international parliamentary institutions (IPIs) consists of conducting parallel diplomatic relations, known as parliamentary diplomacy, especially in the fields of peace-building, crisis management and democracy promotion.

The effectiveness of this form of so-called ‘parliamentarization’ of international relations is often called into question, and can only be judged through systematic empirical work.

This article aims at contributing to this debate by exploring the parliamentary diplomacy activities performed by one of the most prominent parliamentary actors in Euro–Mediterranean relations: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM).

What kinds of tools has PAM adopted to implement its parliamentary diplomacy function? What is the impact of PAM’s parliamentary diplomacy?

The article considers the following elements: legal and policy instruments; institutional features; functions performed while in session; activities directly addressing the national level; and parliamentary diplomacy as such. The period encompassed by the analysis ranges from 2006 to 2014.