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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 03/03
Between Dialogue and Partnership: What North-South Relationship Across the Mediterranean?
November 2001
Abstract
In the post-September 11th evolution a new transatlantic dimension is emerging based in the struggle against terrorism in a global perspective. Terrorism is identified as today’s central threat to international security and co-operation.
As usual, however, at the very moment this new solidarity does emerge, it brings about the germs of fresh divisions. In many European quarters, there are two principal perplexities:
(a) That the new alliances the United States is seeking to set up in the emerging strategic perspective may weaken or trivialise both the transatlantic bond - which remains fundamental in many European security perceptions - and the multilateral pattern of relations developed over time in the Western alliances (by strengthening the post-Cold War tendency towards ad hoc multinational coalitions);
(b) That the strategic perspective assumed by the United States may emphasise military over political, cultural, social and economic responses as well as strategic alliances over partnership and thus prove inadequate to cope with the root causes of conflicts.
This paper is more concerned by the second than the first point. In fact, the assumption of the paper is that, beside war to terrorism and its sponsors, the broad post-September 11th perspective needs to include the development of co-operation and partnership if allies are to be strengthened and support to terrorists to be suppressed. While today’s emphasis is on the military response, there is no doubt that, in order for an effective and dedicated anti-terrorist international coalition to be set up, it must be consolidated by providing, at one and the same time, institution-building, partnership and political responses, including appropriate social, cultural and economic measures.
In sum, the winning strategic approach to the situation generated by September 11th should couple effective military measures, on the one hand, and policies of co-operation inspired by partnership and comprehensive security, on the other.
