The Convergence of Civilizations: Constructing a Mediterranean Region (German & European Studies) (German and European Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802038042 ISBN 13: 9780802038043

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2006

Synopsis

Recent efforts by the United States and its allies to promote democracy, security, and stability in the Middle East owe much to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) - also known as the Barcelona Process - an important region-building plan in the Mediterranean region since 1995. The Convergence of Civilizations represents the output of an innovative and much needed collaborative project focused on the EMP. Editors Emanuel Adler, Beverly Crawford, Federica Bicchi, and Rafaella A. Del Sarto have set out to show that regional security and stability may be achieved through a cultural approach based on the concept of regional identity construction, and aim to take stock of the EMP in relation to this goal.

The contributors to this collection focus on the obstacles Mediterranean region construction faces due to post 9/11 regional and global events, the difficulties of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, tensions between the EU and the US over Iraq, and the expected consequences of EU enlargement. They also seek to bring the EMP and region-making practices to the attention of American scholars in order to promote a more fertile academic exchange.

Ultimately, the contributors demonstrate that the EMP and related region-making practices, while failing so far to promote the development of a Mediterranean regional identity and to achieve regional stability, suggest nonetheless a viable model for regional partnership and cooperation, and thus, for preventing a 'clash of civilizations' in the long haul. The Convergence of Civilizations will be an important tool for meeting the current global challenges being faced by nation-states as well as those in the future.

About this title

Review:

"'The Convergence of Civilizations is a fascinating exploration of how regions are constructed in world politics. It uses the case of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to inquire into the conditions under which a group of countries and peoples come to feel themselves somehow connected to each other. The authors are pioneers in the constructivist research program, and this book constitutes an important empirical contribution to a new and exciting way of thinking about international relations.' -Jeffrey Kopstein, Director, Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto"

About the Author:

Emanuel Adler is the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Chair of Israeli Studies in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Federica Bicchi is a lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Beverly Crawford is a professor with the Center for German and European Studieds at the University of California, Berkeley. Raffaella A. Del Sarto is a Marie Curie Fellow with the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0802038042
• ISBN 13: 9780802038043
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 394
• Editor: Adler Emanuel, Bicchi Federica, Crawford Beverly