Mediterranean Space Research Articles

A Graphic Review of Studies on Ocean and Mediterranean Sea Environment Quality

With so many studies today on the water quality of the sea, one can hardly comprehend the multitude of topics that arise all over the world. This study provides a few graphic syntheses related to the most frequent words (including their clustering and links), trend topics, the spatial distribution of the researched areas, and the thematic evolution of the research directions over the decades. The most frequent authors’ keywords have a 50% similitude between the ocean studies and the studies related to the Mediterranean Sea; these keywords are part of a causal chain that dominates the marine studies on water quality: nutrients → eutrophication → phytoplankton → chlorophyll → seagrass. The most frequent words in the titles and abstracts of the selected papers from the Web of Science are “concentration” and “species”; in the Mediterranean studies, “chlorophyll” and “temperature” are the most frequent. In close connection with water quality, Zostera marina (eelgrass) and Crassotrea virginica (eastern oyster) prevail at the global scale, while Posidonia oceanica (Neptune grass) is relevant in the Mediterranean space. Some of the most studied water bodies are the South China Sea, San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and, in the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, and Marmara seas. “Climate change” and “remote sensing” are trend topics that shape the current studies on water quality; the increasing sea surface temperature enhances algal blooms—these need to be monitored using satellite imagery for the sustainable evolution of human activities, including aquaculture.

Representing the contemporary Mediterranean in La vie devant soi and La vita davanti a sé

This article focuses on the representation of the contemporary Mediterranean space in the films La vie devant soi (Madame Rosa) (1977), directed by Moshé Mizrahi and La vita davanti a sé (The Life Ahead) (2020), directed by Edoardo Ponti. Although the two films are adapted from the same novel, La vie devant soi (The Life Before US) (1977) by Romain Gary, they present different interpretations of the two main characters, Madame Rosa and Momo. This article argues how processes of (forced) movement of people – such as Holocaust deportation, postcolonial movements, and the current migrations between Africa and Europe – have demonstrated a contemporary ‘Mediterranean space’ that goes beyond its geographical borders, but rather is strictly linked to the people of the Mediterranean who made these movements. By analysing the cinematic Mediterranean space created in and in between these two films, it concludes that movement-induced traumas are intrinsic to the pragmatic existence of this geo-cultural space in contemporary times.

Showcasing Italianness through migration governance

Discourse played a crucial role in upholding the “Border Spectacle” throughout the “refugee crisis”. This essay seeks to explore the discursive components of migration governance throughout the “refugee crisis” in Italy by drawing on Sayad’s observation that the state thinks about itself when it talks about migration. The analysis shows that the national categories through which states think about immigration are significantly influenced by the colonial legacy. I rely on discourse analysis approaches to explore the speeches of the two Ministers of the Interior who oversaw migration governance between 2013 and 2018. I argue that the “crisis” offered Italy a key opportunity to showcase its national community as a good-natured and selfless one, while also emphasizing its unique performance within the Mediterranean space. As the Italian case demonstrates, unpacking the national categories through which states conceive migration can contribute to exposing and challenging the historical sanitization of migration governance discourse throughout the “refugee crisis”.

Local development, metropolitan sustainability and the urbanization-suburbanization nexus in the Mediterranean region: A quantitative exercise

The present study investigates the influence of economic growth and socio-demographic change on long-term urbanization and suburbanization processes in a divided region of Southern Europe (Athens, Greece). A two-block Partial Least Squares (tPLS) analysis decomposed metropolitan growth into distinctive processes of local development in ‘central’ and ‘peripheral’ areas considering changes over time (1966–2008) in 14 indicators representative of multifaceted territorial dynamics in the Mediterranean space. By quantifying the bi-directional (spatio-temporal) propagation of socioeconomic impulses, the empirical results of tPLS have delineated substantial differences in the development path of inner cities and suburbs, fueling spatial divides in social conditions and increasingly heterogeneous processes of regional development. While inner cities experienced population growth and settlement densification, peripheral areas underwent rapid suburbanization with spatial concentration of economic functions and a generalized settlement dispersion. Providing further insights in the analysis of the differential mechanisms of metropolitan development in Western Europe, results of this study confirm the specificity of urbanization and suburbanization processes at the base of the increased polarization in central and peripheral areas typical of Mediterranean countries.

Models of the Mediterranean, Camocio’s Isolario, and Early Modern Showings and Tellings in light of Lepanto

This essay proposes three models of Mediterranean space and action that emerge out of early modern narratives and visuals (particularly maps). These overlapping models, for the long sixteenth century, are: 1) itinerary; 2) empire; and 3) predator, all of which appear under the broader frame of geographic-commercial space that is either conflicted or pacific. I employ a preliminary narrative, The Deeds of Commander Pietro Mocenigo, by Coriolano Cippico, a galley commander in the Ottoman-Venetian conflict of 1470-1474; then, the isolario of Giovanni Camocio, as it appeared in the aftermath of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Camocio’s maps focus attention on that battle and on imperial conflict. But his vision of the Mediterranean is that of a range of familiar, maritime spaces dotted with fortresses and harbors, sometimes enmeshed in conflict and more often not.

The elephant in the med: Postcoloniality and European security assistance practices

ABSTRACT This article explores an enormous elephant in the Mediterranean space: European security assistance’s impact on the continuation of a global postcolonial order. We identify three core practices of security assistance that provides for postcolonial readings: externally producing ‘the problem’ and designing ‘the solutions’ to be tackled; linking the ‘provider’ and ‘recipients’ in material dependencies; and contestation as ‘thin’ adjustments rather than ‘thick’ resistance. Contrary to claims of functionalism, what we observe in contemporary European security assistance practice is consistent with postcolonial logics that produce distinct subjectivities and reproduce patterns of inequalities. European states – whether former colonial powers or not –use security assistance to structure the world in hierarchical ways. We argue that security assistance is not primarily about strategic effects but principally about signalling superiority and reproducing dependencies and colonizing/colonised mentalities. Moreover, security assistance practices reveal the need for security assistance – i.e. European SA presence often gets entangled with insecurity, and as such, security assistance practice makes the need for security assistance visible – a self-producing evidentiality that is as taken out of the colonial playbook. The paper explores constitutive processes at work by drawing on insights from British, French, Italian and Swedish approaches to security assistance in Libya and Lebanon.

Women, Intertextuality, Mobility: Mapping Transcultural Networks in the Fifteenth Century Prose Epic 'Herzog Herpin'

Considering the example of the fifteenth-century prose epic Herzog Herpin, attributed to Elisabeth of Nassau-Saarbrücken, through the lens of Caroline Levine's approach to networks, this essay examines the constitutive role of women in intra- and extra-textual constellations. Herzog Herpin is structured by networks colliding and interacting with each other. The family whose story it follows, the Mediterranean space that condition the movement of family members, and the network of intertextual references to Arthurian and Carolingian materials offer particularly productive examples of forms in which women act as connective agents. In turn, Herzog Herpin's composition is conditioned by the context in which Elisabeth evolves – a dynastic network in which women foster links between courts. Using a network approach to connect the intra- and extra-textual without implying causality, sheds light on a pattern of gender-specific involvement in literature relying on movement and connectivity.

Migration, Borders and “De-bordering” in Pandemic Times: Voices as Interlocution from Quarantine Ships in Italy

ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply affected the configuration of border regimes worldwide, resulting in further selective restrictions to individual cross border mobilities. The Mediterranean space, where sea-crossings have been a structural part of migration for over two decades, has been targeted by multidimensional and transversal re-bordering policies: from externalization to search and rescue, from asylum to detention. The “unsafe harbour strategy” and the resulting implementation of offshore isolation, de facto detention, on quarantine ships were key components of these re-bordering policies. These strategies have prevented a number of potential refugees from accessing asylum, thereby reinforcing the so-called hotspot approach. Combining traditional qualitative research methods with digital ethnographic research on “quarantine ships” in Italy, this paper explores migrants' reactions and responses to border enforcement via offshore isolation. By focusing on the voices emerging from quarantine ships, and on the subsequent interlocution between different actors and stakeholders, we highlight the emergence of various forms, tools and strategies of debordering. These are the outcome of the ongoing interaction between confined migrants, civil society stakeholders and the “onshore” world. We eventually discuss the implications of these interlocutions for research on the interplay between bordering and de-bordering in migration management and control.

Appeasement 2.0 - Russia’s expansion in the Black Sea region as a prelude to dominance in the Mediterranean and the Levant

Abstract With Russian troops gathering at the Ukrainian border at the time of writing, Europe and the West are facing a real possibility of a full-scale continental war unprecedented for our generation. The purpose of this paper is to bring forth arguments that the security in the Black Sea area is of vital importance for both the present and future developments in the entire continent. Most recent studies on this topic focus on Russia’s intentions in Ukraine and the weak responses coming from the West. Scholars are divided when it comes to Mr. Putin’s ultimate goals. While some view the recent developments as a bluff, others are concerned that the troop movements might pave the way for a full invasion of Ukraine which will lead to a domino effect. This paper will focus on qualitative analysis. Mr. Putin’s and Russia’s intentions in the Black Sea will be analyzed from primary sources (such as Presidential speeches), while scholarly articles, research papers and policy documents will be used to build a bridge between history, politics and current affairs. The focus will be to establish the extent to which the recent developments in the area are a prelude to an ‘old’ Russian dream of access to the Mediterranean. A compare and contrast approach to appeasement will be used in order to make predictions on the possible outcomes. Our results will show that Mr. Putin is using the Black Sea security as a bargaining chip in his confrontation with the West with the ultimate goal of gaining dominance in the Mediterranean space. This paper will contribute to the recent literature on Eastern European security and how the West continues to misinterpret the dynamics and history of the region.

97 Hospitality and exchange: Identity relationships between ‘natives’ and ‘foreigners’ in Sardinia

Islands have frequently been invoked as a central topos of anthropological inquiry. The idea that islands and their inhabitants were isolated from the rest of the world led to them being treated as living laboratories, ripe for the investigation of a supposed cultural and biological purity. In contrast, the history of Sardinia shows how the island and its inhabitants have historically demonstrated agency in their relationships within the Mediterranean space and beyond. Moving from the assumption that a social group elaborates its identity by experiencing the ‘other’, I use the concept of hospitality as a theoretical framework for its ability to encompass complex and correlated questions helpful in thinking about individuals’ and societies’ relationships with ‘intimacy’ and ‘otherness’. Following this perspective, the contribution aims to examine how, in Sardinia, practices of hospitality have been involved in shaping a feeling of belonging that, in this case, could be called ‘Sardinian-ness’. Specifically, I investigate how global phenomena such as mass tourism and transnational migration impact and change the cultural trait of traditional hospitality, and how these phenomena unfold in an insular context.

Volume 51 (2021)

Volume 51 (2021)

Where the Long Way Ends: Descriptions of the Mediterranean Sea and Holy Land and the Criticism of Crusading at the Court of Henry II of England (1154-1189)

The purpose of this essay is to explore Gerald of Wales’s Topographia Hibernica and Walter Map’s De Nugis Curialium, to assess how the authors treated and described the Mediterranean space, with particular reference to the Holy Land. The selected texts are often cited as typical of the style of literary production that took place at the court of Henry II of England (1154-1189) and of the strong correspondence that existed between the policies of the English king and the works of his courtiers. The first version of the Topographia Hibernica was written between 1186-1188 and is the first treatise on Ireland composed by a non-Irish author. The De Nugis Curialium, a collection of satirical invectives, folktales, and personal experiences, was written during the latter half of the twelfth century. In their respective texts, Gerald of Wales and Walter Map focus primarily on topics regarding the British Isles. Noticeably, however, both writers make relevant digressions in order to report information about Sicily, Greece and the Holy Land, and that both authors witnessed the arrival of the patriarch of Jerusalem in London. The present article has two goals: first, bearing in mind Henry II’s reluctance as a response to possible crusade, the aim of this analysis is to see if and how the descriptions of the Mediterranean space coincided with Henry II’s reluctance to travel to Jerusalem. The second aim is to show how such descriptions accorded with the structure of both works and, in particular, how they might serve the authors’ specific interests beyond their adherence to Henry II’s policies.

Ten Years Into the Arab Uprising: Images of EU’s Presence, Practices, and Alternatives in the Mediterranean Space

Ten years into the Arab uprisings, how is the EU perceived in the Mediterranean region in terms of its democracy and human rights agenda? Based on a systematic inquiry into images of EU presence and practices through 144 recursive multi-stakeholder consultations with mainly civil society and grassroots actors in Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt and Europe, we found that the EU presence is described as invisible, incoherent, preferable to other powers, ambivalent, unresponsive, ineffective, divisive, and even neocolonial. Its practices appear as depoliticizing, securitizing, and technocratic. While it is not seen as a model in the region, no new model is emerging. However, ideas for alternatives exist, namely embracing the local struggle for democracy, taking account of human security needs on all shores of the Mediterranean, and investing into a new two-way relationship where all voices matter equally. European Union, Arab countries, external perceptions, non-Eurocentric, alternatives

The Phoenician Cultural Route as a Framework for Intercultural Dialogue in Today’s Mediterranean: a Focus on Malta

This paper examines how the Phoenicians’ Route acts as a framework for intercultural dialogue in today’s Mediterranean. Particular reference is made to tourism in the region, with a focus on Malta. The paper refers to recent aspects of the route’s development in the field of intangible heritage. It focuses on those elements of intangible heritage that accompany, reveal and highlight the social relevance of heritage by highlighting the appreciation accorded by Mediterranean communities to artefacts, sites and monuments that are part of the route. It emphasises the educational and social elements of the actions supported by the route in relation to intercultural dialogue, looking at how this practice relates to other cultural manifestations. This paper pays special attention to the inter-relation between tourism activities and cultural expression in Malta, a recent member of the route. Furthermore, special attention is given to the annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, in order to study the way the approach towards research about the Phoenicians supported by the route is applied in the framework of the Festival. The paper notes how the Festival links past and present by seeking inspiration from historical episodes of intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean and applying them to the contemporary needs of artistic, cultural, political and social exchange within the Mediterranean space.

Soundscape and Heritage: The Sonic Environment in Roskilde Juxtaposed with James Joyce’s Ulysses

This article is a contribution to a research field positioned in the intersection of theories of sound, place, heritage, memory, and literature. Without clear demarcations this field encompasses subjects as diverse as cultural geography, literature studies, the humanities in general, and music studies, among others. The point of departure is a reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses. In the same way that Joyce transposed Odysseus’ exploration of the Mediterranean space to Dublin, this article transposes Bloom’s experience of Dublin to the city of Roskilde. Joyce virtuously connected sound and words. Literature proves to be extremely powerful in offering insights into issues to which both theory and daily life often remain blind, having thus not only an affective function but also a decidedly epistemological one; that is, of expanding our knowledge regarding both theoretical and experiential issues. What my brief discussion of the chapter “Sirens” hints toward is literature’s incredible potential both to play with the musicality of language and the emotions this aspect engenders and to give rise to powerful theoretical insights into the nature, structure, and functions of soundscapes, thus ultimately refining our understanding of our complex and ambiguous relationship to the myriad soundscapes by which we are surrounded.

From the Mediterranean Diet to theDiaita: The Epistemic Making of a Food Label

Abstract:The Mediterranean Diet was one of the first food-related nominations on the international cultural heritage list. By introducing the concepts of “epistemic community” and “governmentality” to analyze this heritagization process, I will evaluate the participation and consent of “the Mediterranean people” and their belief in a common identity based in a holistic conception of this food tradition—the so-calleddiaita. My goal is to demonstrate that the inscription’s proposal was motivated first by a long-term strategy aimed at promoting an “umbrella brand” of agro-food products extended to the whole Mediterranean space. Then, I will emphasize the attempt to design a model of property rights protection that is adequate for this food label, which was later presented within the realm of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a measure for safeguarding thediaitaas an item of intangible cultural heritage. Finally, I will argue that this claim totally omits the rights of the numerous expatriates living outside this region.

Beyond the European Union’s Neighbourhood: Liberation Geographies in the Mediterranean

ABSTRACT The notion of a Mediterranean Neighbourhood points to how a specific geopolitical space is scripted, imagined and then translated into practice through the European Union’s foreign policy towards this region. I contend that the Arab Spring took place within this European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) framework contesting many of its underlying principles. This wave of social upheaval across a marked EU vs. non-EU space enabled a series of geographical imaginations and spatial practices able to rethink the Mediterranean region otherwise. This paper introduces three concepts developed by Hamid Dabashi to the geographical debates rethinking Europe’s contours through a post/de-colonial analytical lens. Drawing from the spatial thinking that characterises Dabashi’s recent work, this paper contributes to the rich critical literature on the ENP’s macro-regional imaginary. Concretely, building on Dabashi’s notion of “liberation geographies”, I emphasise how recent organising as well as ongoing migratory movements in the region constitute serious geopolitical interlocutors able to produce alternative Mediterranean spaces.

Enjeux euro-méditerranéens

Cet article part d'une interrogation, elle-même née de la lecture des documents officiels structurant le "partenariat euro-méditerranéen" né à Barcelone en 1995. A en croire l'union Européenne, un tel partenariat avec l'ensemble des pays bordant la Méditerranée ne serait que l'aboutissement logique de la cohérence de cet espace. Pourtant, tant la lecture des réflexions d'intellectuels que celle de statistiques brutes semblent nous dépeindre une réalité de fractures, de différences, de divergences d'intérêts, d'incompréhensions - plutôt qu'un tableau cohérent. La question qui doit se poser est donc la suivante : pourquoi l'UE a-t-elle présenté la Méditerranée comme un espace cohérent ? S'agissait-il là d'une sorte de "speech act" performatif destiné à devenir vrai par sa croyance et sa pratique ? Se situant àun autre niveau d'analyse, cet article veut plus simplementéclairer le pur choix stratégique de l'Union Européenne. Créer un espace "Euromed" cohérent, c'est en définitive justifier et permettre la mise en place d'une certaine politique économique et énergétique.

British imperialism and Southern liberalism: re-shaping the Mediterranean space, c. 1817–1823

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to offer an intellectual history of the British Empire’s involvement in the Mediterranean during the revolutions of the 1820s, focusing in particular on debates between British, Neapolitan and Sicilian intellectuals about international order in the Mediterranean. It points to the existence of a specific British debate on the nature and significance of Britain’s imperial presence in the Central Mediterranean, which in turn fostered Southern reflections on the benefits and legal boundaries of an imperial protectorate. Within Neapolitan reflections on imperialism, I shall argue, there were to be found calls for a British presence in the Mediterranean supportive of liberalism but devoid of any civilizing mission or exercise of sovereignty over the seas. Southern intellectuals thus envisaged the Mediterranean as a space characterized by liberty of navigation and commerce, national self-government and the absence of hierarchies between sovereign states.

MEDRESET. How Does Russia Conceive of the Mediterranean Space in Its Official Discourse and Narratives? A Critical Discourse Analysis

MEDRESET. How Does Russia Conceive of the Mediterranean Space in Its Official Discourse and Narratives? A Critical Discourse Analysis