Framing and Reframing the EU’s Engagement with the Mediterranean: Examining the Security-Stability Nexus before and after the Arab Uprisings

TY - JOUR

T1 - Framing and Reframing the EU’s Engagement with the Mediterranean

T2 - Examining the Security-Stability Nexus before and after the Arab Uprisings

AU - Roccu, Roberto

AU - Voltolini, Benedetta

PY - 2018/1/2

Y1 - 2018/1/2

N2 - By examining a range of policy areas, this special issue aims to assess and qualify the predominant claim in the literature that EU policies towards the Southern Mediterranean after the Arab uprisings have been marked by continuity. This is attributed to the fact that the EU still acts with the aim of maximising its security by preserving stability in the region. This introduction outlines our case on both empirical and analytical grounds. Empirically, it is argued that we need to offer a more detailed analysis of each specific policy area to assess the extent of continuity and change. Analytically, this introduction proposes a framework that focuses on processes of frame definition and frame enactment to explain change and continuity in the EU’s approach. More specifically, security, stability and the link between them – the security-stability nexus – are considered as the master frame shaping the EU’s approach towards the Southern Mediterranean. This is enacted along two dimensions: the modalities of EU engagement with Southern Mediterranean partners; and the range of actors engaged.

AB - By examining a range of policy areas, this special issue aims to assess and qualify the predominant claim in the literature that EU policies towards the Southern Mediterranean after the Arab uprisings have been marked by continuity. This is attributed to the fact that the EU still acts with the aim of maximising its security by preserving stability in the region. This introduction outlines our case on both empirical and analytical grounds. Empirically, it is argued that we need to offer a more detailed analysis of each specific policy area to assess the extent of continuity and change. Analytically, this introduction proposes a framework that focuses on processes of frame definition and frame enactment to explain change and continuity in the EU’s approach. More specifically, security, stability and the link between them – the security-stability nexus – are considered as the master frame shaping the EU’s approach towards the Southern Mediterranean. This is enacted along two dimensions: the modalities of EU engagement with Southern Mediterranean partners; and the range of actors engaged.

KW - EU foreign policy

KW - Arab uprisings

KW - framing

KW - security-stability nexus

KW - engagement

KW - Southern Mediterranean

U2 - 10.1080/13629395.2017.1358895

DO - 10.1080/13629395.2017.1358895

M3 - Article

SN - 1362-9395

VL - 23

SP - 1

EP - 22

JO - Mediterranean Politics

JF - Mediterranean Politics

IS - 1

ER -