Globalisation, States, and Regionalisation: Analysing post-Cold War Security in the Mediterranean Region

Is it possible to promote security in the Mediterranean through a process of increasing regional cooperation that builds upon the commonality in problems and opportunities more than on the mutual divides? In a comprehensive and enlightening analysis, Brauch (2001) has argued that this option is being considerably complicated by the coexistence of three kinds of thinking: pre-modern (the belated formation of nations in South-Eastern Europe along ethnic, religious or historic boundaries); modern (the forceful defence of national sovereignty against outside intrusion (e.g. criticism of human rights violations) in most Arab states, Israel and Turkey; and post-modern (concerning the emergence of transnational spaces beyond the control of the nation states, through globalisation processes). We consider this analysis as an extremely insightful diagnosis of the problematique of the Mediterranean. In this paper we wish to contribute to dealing with the task identified in Brauch’s conclusion: finding a pragmatic theoretical approach as a remedy to proceed beyond modern and pre-modern inspired fragmentation processes.