Pulsions et impulsions : l'euro-méditerranée comme enjeu de société
In: Politique étrangère: revue trimestrielle publiée par l'Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Band 63, Heft 1, S. 35-49
ISSN: 1958-8992
Drive and Impulse : Euro-Mediterranean Policy as a Challenge to Society, by Bassma Kodmani-Darwish
Euro-Mediterranean partnership is a challenge to society because the Barcelona process can only be successful if it acquires legitimacy in public opinion. This project is arousing great hopes in the South but also great fears. Its rationale of integration into the globalization dynamic implies far-reaching changes in these countries' structures, changes that are liable to fuel Islamic dissidence. Europe must therefore develop an Arabo-Muslim policy that is both external and internal, because the North-South borders are also internal, identity-related and cultural borders that run across European societies. The long-term challenge is the creation of an area under joint North-South responsibility. This is the only alternative to the Arab world's temptation to turn in on itself, submit or revolt.