Forced Convergence? Transatlantic Strategy in the Global Mediterranean

Two interconnected developments are reshaping the Mediterranean security equation in a profound way and for the long term: the “globalization” of the Mediterranean space and the weakening of the Arab state system from the Middle East to North Africa. Transatlantic actors will have to shift their aims from building a Mediterranean security community of sorts to the more basic goal of preserving some kind of international order in an increasingly chaotic region. The European Union and the United States may be finally pushed toward greater convergence by a fast-deteriorating security environment calling for a focus on common strategic interests and prudently defined normative ambitions.