Mediterranean Frontiers Borders, Conflict and Memory in a Transnational World

by Bechev, Dimitar; Nicolaidis, Kalypso

• ISBN13: 9781848851252
• ISBN10: 1848851251
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-01-15
• Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies

Summary

The identity of any nation-state is inextricably linked with its borders and frontiers. Borders connect nations and sustain notions of social cohesion. Yet they are also the sites of division, fragmentation and political conflict. This ambitious study encompasses North Africa, the Middle East, and South and South East Europe to examine the emergence of state borders and polarised identities in the Mediterranean. The authors look at the impact of political boundaries upon the region, along with pressures from European and economic integration, the resurgence of nationalism, and refugee and security concerns. The authors explore the politics of memory, and ask whether echoes from the imperial past -- Ottoman and colonial -- could provide the basis for conflict resolution, region-building and economic integration.

Author Biography

Kalypso Nicolaidis is Professor of International Relations and Director of the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford. Dimitar Bechev is a Research Fellow at the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

*Preface * Introduction * Part 1: Constructing Borders and Memories * The Ambivalent Sea: Regionalizing the Mediterranean Differently - Kerem Oktem * Between the Empire and the Nation-State: The Problem of Borders in the Maghreb - Fatma Ben Slimane * Turkey in the Post-Ottoman Mediterranean: Transcending the 'West' / 'Islam' Binary? - Nora Onar * The Uses of Empire: Myths and Memories in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean - Dimitar Bechev * Part 2: Revisiting Memories to Transform Conflicts? * Can We Act on Memory in the Mediterranean? The Case of Algeria - Marie-Claire Lavabre and Dimitri Bechev * 'That Most Beautiful Part of Italy': Memories of Fascist Empire-Building in the Adriatic - Bojan Baskar * Memory, Conflict and Gender: Women in Black in Israel/Palestine and former Yugoslavia - Franziska Brantner * Part 3: Crossing Borders, Confronting Memories * Borderlands: The Middle East and North Africa as the EU's Southern Buffer Zone - Raffaella A. Del Sarto * Borders Besieged: A View on Migration from the European-African Edge * The Israeli Closure Policies and the Informal Border Economy between the West Bank and Northern Negev (2000-2006) - Cedric Parizot *