Security governance of asymmetric threats in the Mediterranean: agendas, identity implications and global impacts

Abstract EN

For decades, the Mediterranean region has grabbled with unique challenges from asymmetric threats such as: terrorism, illegal immigration, organized crime, cyber attacks, and maritime vulnerabilities, all necessitating nuanced security governance.

this article examines the interplay between national / regional agendas, identity interference and global influences to (re) shape the security governance arrangements in the Mediterranean.

I will draw on content analysis of the regional security strategies and institutional / constructivist approaches to capture the main elements of the subject.

the article concludes that disparate accounts of the security governance of asymmetric threats in the region could be explained by the combination of regional rational institutionalism with identity nuances in facing asymmetric threats; furthermore, extra-regional events are deeply influencing the Mediterranean security, a fact that prompts broader collaboration beyond the two shores of the Mediterranean sea.