Chatham House: Independent thinking on international affairs

This research project ran from January 2008 to December 2009. It examined what has changed in respect of transatlantic relations in the Mediterranean region in the last six years. It focused specifically on the new and, more piecemeal, policy approaches adopted towards key Mediterranean states by the US and individual European states as well as the European Union as an actor in its own right.

The project examined whether differences in Transatlantic policy approaches towards Mediterranean states and societies are more imagined than real, or whether they reflect more enduring and fundamental divergences in transatlantic perceptions and priorities towards this region.

The study focused on North African states, in which the impact of developments further east (especially Israel-Palestine) are felt, but do not determine relations with the US and Europe.

The study introduced a new, and often underestimated element in security assessments, namely, the role of private, as well as public investment in the economies and societies under examination. As a factor in stabilising and promoting 'soft' security initiatives within Mediterranean societies, bilateral investment and the growth in trade and new forms of local entrepreneurship have increased considerably in the past six years.

The local and regional impacts of these new developments need to be considered in conjunction with more traditional approaches to security cooperation in countering trans-national crime, terrorism and illegal migration.

Publications

North Africa: The Hidden Risks to Regional Stability
Claire Spencer, April 2009

Further resources

North Africa: New Challenges, Old Regimes, and Regional Security
Claire Spencer, November 2008
International Peace Institute Working Paper Series
Paper presented at the Chatham House seminar, African Security: Regional Responses, Future Prospects, February 2009.

Europe and the Mediterranean: Eyeing Other Shores
Claire Spencer, The World Today, July 2008

Algeria: Tired of Waiting
Claire Spencer, The World Today, January 2008

Contact

For more information please contact Jessica Forsythe.

More information about Chatham House work on the United States in the world >>