Suchergebnisse

Historically the Mediterranean has been crossed by civilizations, peoples and goods which interacted, not always peacefully, respecting pluralism and mutual acknowledgment. The colonial expansion was a rupture which introduced the European hegemony all over the basin denying the "other". France and Italy were the most relevant beneficiaries. Italian colonialism started in the Red Sea and founded the Empire in the Horn but landed in the Northern Africa with Libya's conquest in 1911-12. Not even decolonization, with the access to independence of the colonial possessions after the Second World War, entirely filled the gap between North and South opened by colonialism as such because of the asymmetry at the level of power and the economic and commercial dependence. Italy pursued its international alliances in a perspective focussed on the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the Cold War strains Rome tried to save a good neighbouring with the Arab states. Europe has its border -- as a place where the diverse actors meet -- in the Mediterranean. However, the united Europe failed in all the attempts to bring about a real cooperation with the South shore. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership setup in 1995 did not survive the evaluation Conference ten years later. Is the cooperation season over? Italy too has been involved in the coalition that waged a war to accelerate the collapse of Qadhafi's regime under attack from an internal upsurge covering the will of France to reaffirm a post-colonial influence after the liberty wave (Arab Spring) that is going to change the profile of North Africa. Adapted from the source document.