L'obiettivo di questa tesi di dottorato è quello di individuare alcune tematiche che permettano la comprensione, anche e soprattutto dall'interno, di un processo storico, politico, economico e socio-culturale che ha fortemente caratterizzato e condizionato la sponda sud del Mediterraneo e, in particolare la Tunisia. I fili conduttori della ricerca sono lo studio del sistema-Paese Tunisia, della sua storia dall'indipendenza fino ai nostri giorni, del funzionamento delle istituzioni politiche, della complessa relazione tra etnie, religione, partiti politici e poteri istituzionali, delle relazioni internazionali e dell'economia. Ampio spazio viene assegnato all'analisi del ruolo della donna in Tunisia alla luce del Code du Statut Personnel, che ne regolamenta la posizione e le funzioni nella società tunisina. Infine, viene affrontato il tema del Partenariato euromediterraneo, con particolare attenzione all'area socio-culturale: quest'ultima fa sì che la Tunisia si ponga oggi tra i Paesi Terzi Mediterranei maggiormente all'avanguardia nella cooperazione. / The objective of this thesis of doctorate is to characterize some thematics in order to permit the understanding, above all from the inside, of an historical, political, economic and socio-cultural process. This has strongly characterized and conditioned the south side of the Mediterranean and, in particular Tunisia. The threads of the search are the study of the system -Country Tunisia, of its history from independence until our days; of the operation of the political institutions; of the complex relation between ethnic groups, religion, political parties and institutional powers; of the international relations and the economy. Wide space is given to the analysis of the role of the woman in Tunisia to the light of the Code du Statut Personnel. It prescribes the position and the woman's functions in the Tunisian society. Finally, it is faced the topic of the Euromediterranean Partnership, with particular attention to the socio-cultural area. In such a way Tunisia today places between the Mediterranean Thirds Countries mainly to the vanguard in the cooperation.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The thesis investigates how the European Union promotes stability and security in the Mediterranean region. The aim is to analyse the European Union’s security ambitions with Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the Barcelona Process. An analytical framework with five sectors (military, political, economic, environmental and societal), based on the Copenhagen School’s theories about security sectors and securitization, is used for the analysis. Within the framework threats, objectives and methods are categorized into each security sector. Then it is possible to distinguish if any sector is more prioritised by the EU. Qualitative text analysis is used to examine relevant EU-documents. The result of the analysis shows that the European Union prioritizes the economical and societal sector in promoting peace and security within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Through economical integration and cultural dialogue, the EU tries to enhance security and stability. The EU emphasises the importance of global governance and international law for a stable peace. The study concludes that the widened concept of security, within the Copenhagen School, can help to explain the European Union’s work inside the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.</p>

Primary assumption of this thesis is that the European Union (EU) represents a unique international actor that embodies the major changes in institution of diplomacy. These changes culminate in the 21st Century. They rest namely in widening of diplomatic agenda, increasing number and kind of actors conducting diplomacy, growing importance of multilateral frameworks and transformation of diplomatic actors' objectives. At the centre of our interest lays the concept of structural foreign policy (SFP) that constitutes an analytical framework of this thesis. SFP is an instrument through which the EU exercises its structural power towards third countries. The aim of this thesis is to provide an analysis and critique of the EU's SFP towards Maghreb. The region has been chosen as the subject of our analysis since despite a long term and continuous effort since 1990s the EU has largely failed to effectively exercise its structural power in the region.

This thesis aims to analyze the development of the collective policies of the European Union towards the Middle East by focusing on the reasons behind the formulation of these policies, and the degree of success, failure and prospects of these policies. The general success of the European Community in the 1970s created a desire for European states to form a coordinated European foreign policy. Since the 1970s, the Community started to show willingness to shape international events and to strengthen its international role. The Middle East was one of the leading regions to which the Community turned in the early 1970s, an area, which, for historical and geographical reasons, is of vital interest to it. EU has been becoming a coherent and strategic actor in the Middle East since the 1990s. It has secured an important presence in the Middle East Peace Process and it has further strengthened its role in the Middle East through the adoption of a common, comprehensive regional strategy called the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and developed it with the initiation of the European Neighborhood Policy. However, the European Union&rsquo / s presence is still limited due to its institutional weaknesses, the lack of political unity among its member states, lack of political instruments and military capabilities.

The aim of this thesis is to examine, analyse and discuss the ways in which the European Union is structuring its relations with its neighbours in the Mediterranean region, in regards of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, its Third Basket which is dealing with the socio-cultural cooperation and human affairs, and the initiative of the intercultural dialogue. In this thesis, it is shown that the human dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has experienced an increase in related debates, activities and initiatives within the post-9/11 world order. To organise the intercultural relations and the civil society input in the process, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures was established in 2005. It is observed that within the framework of this renewed significance of the Third Basket and the notion of intercultural dialogue, there exist clear problems regarding the issues of the politicisation and securitisation of the process, the representation of cultural entities and the participation of civil society organisations. To conclude, it is suggested that the independence of the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation regarding the issues of funding and civil society participation need to be enhanced extensively as within the current situation the political actors and the governments of the partner countries have strict control over the functioning of the intercultural dialogue which is initiated as a solely non-governmental institution that would regulate the cultural relations in the region.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Tunisia is often described as the solitary success among the political transitions which followed. Much has been ascribed to the trade agreement (Euro-Mediterranean Partnership or EMP) between EU and Tunisia in promoting said democracy. Recently, Tunisia has also become dependent on IMF loans. This has raised concerns of the effect of neoliberal policies that are advocated for by the IMF, EU and the World Bank. The correlation between neoliberal policies and political stability is still being debated among scholars and the linear causalities remain unclear. Several scholars have criticised the EU-Tunisian trade agreement and EU policies, claiming that this has led to increased poverty and social instability in the country. This study seeks to determine, in accordance with such critique, if a neoliberal agenda is advocated for by the EU. Previous studies have focused on policy effects of the trade and foreign relations between EU and Tunisia. Instead this study analyses the mutual trade agreement and EU political policy agenda for Tunisia to understand the intent of the EU. A content analysis is used on the Association Agreement as well as the EU Policy Paper `Cadre Unique d’appui 2017-2020´ towards Tunisia.This study uses a definition of neoliberalism based on Joseph Stiglitz well-renowned critique on IMF-policies in developing countries in the 1980s-1990s. The result of the analysis shows that even though policy or trade provisions may correspond to a neoliberal agenda, the overall language in both the trade agreement and the policy documents suggest that EU is well-aware of possible negative effects of neoliberal policies. Throughout the documents EU advocates for a balanced approach including both economic and social interests.The study does not find evidence for EU knowingly pursuing a neoliberal agenda in Tunisia. Instead it suggests that future studies on the topic should focus on the EU Commission’s own projections of its policies, a more thorough study on policy effects of specific treaty- and policy provisions, and/ or how neoliberal approaches have recently evolved in development policies.

<p>This thesis attempts to assess the security aspect of the Barcelona Process (Process), or so called Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) within the theoretical framework of new regionalism and the Copenhagen School (Security complex theory) which agrees with neo/realism, neo-liberal institutionalism and constructivism in some aspects. The end of the Cold War broadened the security agenda and new security concerns emerged. Actually, most of the so- called security threats are not new, but the perception of them by the states has changed with globalization which increased the interconnectedness and density of the interaction. Global challenges have made states more vulnerable so appreciated the cooperative interaction at regional level. Comprehensive and cooperative security approaches gained importance and led regional security partnership among states. The construction of Euro-Mediterranean security partnership is one case stemming from the high level of interdependence between the European and the Mediterranean countries. The historical ties, economic dependency, geographical proximity increased the EU’s interest towards the Mediterranean. While new regionalism enables to grasp systemic factors in the Process, the Copenhagen School permits to understand security partnership at the regional level. The rise of illegal immigration flows and religious fundamentalism in the Mediterranean as well as tension in the Middle East conflict, the Iraqi War, and terrorist attacks to the US, Algeria and recently Turkey appreciated the importance of the EMP policy and security cooperation so make this study more crucial. </p><p>This study showed that the security challenges in five sectors of the security defined by the Copenhagen School are observable in the EMP’s case. Both military and non-military concerns threaten the stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean Basin. The three baskets of the EMP depict its comprehensive security approach. Having made an overview of the Barcelona Process, the thesis evaluated the security challenges in general and the thematic areas of concerns in depth. Since security cannot be defined without reference to the perceptions and security cultures of the actors, the study examined the perceptions and security cultures in the EMP. </p><p>The evaluation of the EMP showed that the EMP has shown certain developments on the way for the security cooperation. However, it could not produce tangible results due to the fundamental shortcomings categorized as inter and intra-institutional incoherence, definitional/perceptional problems and multi- actor involvement in the region. The lack of institutional structures, asymmetrical relations among partners, unbalanced distribution of powers and lack of commitment of the EU are crucial problems. On the basis of all problems lie the gap between the perceptions and security culture of Europe and the Arab world. Thus, this thesis emphasizes the enhancement of inter- subjective understanding and cultural dialogue in order to improve trust and interaction among partners. The EMP is on right track to build zone of peace in the Basin, but it requires longue durée to achieve this.</p>

This thesis attempts to assess the security aspect of the Barcelona Process (Process), or so called Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) within the theoretical framework of new regionalism and the Copenhagen School (Security complex theory) which agrees with neo/realism, neo-liberal institutionalism and constructivism in some aspects. The end of the Cold War broadened the security agenda and new security concerns emerged. Actually, most of the so- called security threats are not new, but the perception of them by the states has changed with globalization which increased the interconnectedness and density of the interaction. Global challenges have made states more vulnerable so appreciated the cooperative interaction at regional level. Comprehensive and cooperative security approaches gained importance and led regional security partnership among states. The construction of Euro-Mediterranean security partnership is one case stemming from the high level of interdependence between the European and the Mediterranean countries. The historical ties, economic dependency, geographical proximity increased the EU’s interest towards the Mediterranean. While new regionalism enables to grasp systemic factors in the Process, the Copenhagen School permits to understand security partnership at the regional level. The rise of illegal immigration flows and religious fundamentalism in the Mediterranean as well as tension in the Middle East conflict, the Iraqi War, and terrorist attacks to the US, Algeria and recently Turkey appreciated the importance of the EMP policy and security cooperation so make this study more crucial. This study showed that the security challenges in five sectors of the security defined by the Copenhagen School are observable in the EMP’s case. Both military and non-military concerns threaten the stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean Basin. The three baskets of the EMP depict its comprehensive security approach. Having made an overview of the Barcelona Process, the thesis evaluated the security challenges in general and the thematic areas of concerns in depth. Since security cannot be defined without reference to the perceptions and security cultures of the actors, the study examined the perceptions and security cultures in the EMP. The evaluation of the EMP showed that the EMP has shown certain developments on the way for the security cooperation. However, it could not produce tangible results due to the fundamental shortcomings categorized as inter and intra-institutional incoherence, definitional/perceptional problems and multi- actor involvement in the region. The lack of institutional structures, asymmetrical relations among partners, unbalanced distribution of powers and lack of commitment of the EU are crucial problems. On the basis of all problems lie the gap between the perceptions and security culture of Europe and the Arab world. Thus, this thesis emphasizes the enhancement of inter- subjective understanding and cultural dialogue in order to improve trust and interaction among partners. The EMP is on right track to build zone of peace in the Basin, but it requires longue durée to achieve this.