MEDITERRANEAN POLITICS

Students will learn how to apply the analytical tools of Political Science to Euro-Mediterranean Relations. They will be able to understand patterns of cooperation, regional conflicts, territorial disputes, socio-economic unbalances, persistent authoritarianism or perspective trends of political change, security issues and relevant problems in the regional agenda such as migration. 

The Negotiation Lab on Migration Politics provides students with the negotiations' techniques acquired via a hands-on exercise.

This teaching course relies upon a combination of traditional lectures and active learning, i.e. presentations in class and simulation of negotiations concerning migration issues. This seminar format fosters autonomous learning and the elaboration of personal opinions and critical stances on Mediterranean Politics.
The first part of the course - lectures from October to December - relies upon compulsory readings. Students are required to read texts beforehand so to actively participate in the class debate. Students illustrate individually or in group (2/3 presenters) the content of selected readings with the support of a ppt or prezi presentation. As an alternative, they can prepare podcasts on the selected topics. 
The Negotiation Lab on Migration Politics is held in January and relies upon students’ simulations and role-plays.

This teaching course explores the Mediterranean area and provides the theoretical and analytical tools to explain political processes and understand critical security issues in the area.

In order to explore EU relations with the Southern Neighbors, it investigates relations between regional and global actors, state and non-state actors (e.g. political parties and civil society organizations), transnational actors and International Organizations.
It focuses upon the most relevant cooperation processes in the Mediterranean area, namely EMP/UfM, ENP, democratization (or lack of), and crucial issues such as regional territorial disputes, security (maritime security in particular), migration, terrorism, energy security, etc. 

The Negotiation Lab on Migration Politics has a hands-on nature, namely it helps understanding the complex EU decision–making process concerning migration. The European Union is often said to be distant from EU citizens. This Negotiation Lab boosts interest on the EU migration policy, by zooming into intra-EU institutional and EUMS relations or tensions. This Negotiation Lab seeks to render the decision-making process more tangible and comprehensible to students by exploring the complex negotiations among EUMS in the EU institutions and EU inter-institutional dynamics. They will explore the Dublin Regulation Reform, the European Migration Agenda, the European Migration Pact, considering the different stances and roles of the EUMS and EU institutions. As final output, students will issue 'their' European Council Conclusions. 

The Mediterranean Politics subject contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030. 
Namely, the following goals:
GOAL 4: Quality Education https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4

GOAL 5: Gender Equality https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5

GOAL 10: Reduce Inequality within and among Countries  https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10

WEEK 1: Panebianco S., Conceptualising the Mediterranean Global South: A research agenda on security, borders and human flows, in ‘De Europa’, 2021,  4: 1, 17-34, available in OPEN ACCESS: https://ojs.unito.it/index.php/deeuropa/article/view/5514

Panebianco, S. (in print), ‘The EU governance in the Mediterranean Neighbourhood between Change and Continuity’, in Handbook on Governance and the EU (Edward Elgar), edited by Sonia Lucarelli and James Sperling.

WEEK 2: Keukeleire, S.,  Lecocq, S., and  Volpi, F., Decentring Norms in EU Relations with the Southern Neighbourhood, in Journal of Common Market Studies,  2021, 59:  891–908. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13121.

WEEK 3: Attinà F., Mediterranean Security and the World Policies. The Overlooked Link, in Panebianco S. (ed.), Border Crises and Human Mobility in the Mediterranean Global South. Challenges to Expanding Borders, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, pp. 21-42.

WEEK 4: EU official documents to be selected.

WEEK 5: Josua M. & Edel M., The Arab uprisings and the return of repression, in Mediterranean Politics, 2021, 26:5, 586-611. AVAILABLE IN OPEN ACCESS:https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2021.1889298

Panebianco, S., Cannata, G. (2024), ‘The Mobility-Democracy Nexus Betrayed: when the European Commission’s Talks fall apart in the Mediterranean’, in European Foreign Affairs Review, 29 (1), 7-34.

WEEK 6: Grappi G. & Lucarelli S., Bordering power Europe? The mobility-bordering nexus in and by the European Union, in Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2022, 30:2, 207-219.

Tallis, B. Operationalising the borderscape: making sense of proliferating (in)securities and (im)mobilities, in International Politics, 2022, 59, 410–427. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41311-021-00280-w

WEEK 7: EU official documents to be selected.

WEEK 8: Freedman, J., Immigration, Refugees and Responses, in Journal of Common Market Studies,  2021, 59: 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13258.

Geddes, A., The Politics of European Union Migration Governance, in Journal of Common Market Studies,  2018, 56:  120–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12763.

WEEK 9: Alagna F.,  Civil Society and Municipal Activism Around Migration in the EU: A Multi-Scalar Alliance-Making, Geopolitics, 2024, 29:4, 1245-1271, AVAILABLE IN OPEN ACCESS: https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2023.2209273

Panebianco S., The Mediterranean Migration Crisis: Humanitarian practices and migration governance in Italy, in ‘Contemporary Italian Politics’, 2019, vol. 11, n. 4, pp. 386-400. 

WEEK 10: Smeets S. & Beach D., ‘It is like déjà vu all over again’ an inside analysis of the management of EU migration reform, Journal of European Integration, 2023, 45(6), 889–909 AVAILABLE IN OPEN ACCESS: https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2023.2209273

WEEK 11: Negotiation Lab on Migration Politics.

This teaching course adopts a student-centred learning approach. Therefore, students’ knowledge is assessed via a continuous evaluation of the students’ performance in their different roles: acting as podcaster, paper-presenter, negotiator, or defending the mini-essay. 

Every week, students provide a resumé (approx. 500 words) and a slide of the assigned compulsory readings to show that they can apply the Political Science theoretical tools, language and approaches. As an alternative, they can produce a podcast on the selected topic and video-project it in class.

The final mini-essay covers one of the topics addressed by the Mediterranean Politics teaching course. Students must choose 1 question out of a list provided by the instructor and must use academic readings.

The final evaluation will take into account class debate, presentations, simulation and the final essay. These tasks will be assessed as follows: participation in the class debate (20%); class presentations (20%); simulations during the negotiation lab (30%) and the final written paper (mini-essay) (30%). 

The final evaluation relies upon written mini-essays addressing the following sample issues: 

1. Define the Mediterranean as a region by making use of the appropriate literature.
2. Select and explore a topical issue in the regional agenda.
3. Explain the ‘winds of democratic change’ in the Mediterranean.The Arab uprisings produced uneven outcomes, please provide an explanation of these uneven outcomes by referring to the existing literature on democratization and making use of appropriate case-studies.
4. The EU as a democracy-promoter: pitfalls and strengths of this normative approach.
5. What kind of theories can explain resilience and transition in the MENA? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
6. How to overcome the border control-humanitarian approach divide when addressing the Mediterranean migration crisis.
7. Addressing Migration in the Mediterranean: burden-sharing versus burden-shifting 
8. Managing migration in the Mediterranean despite North-South/East-West cleavages 

Provide a sound answer, related to the topic. 

Elaborate an original contribution.

Provide a robust argument (not just an opinion piece).

Add pertinent examples and illustrations.

Use appropriately the compulsory readings (the further readings can be used as well).

Add accurate bibliographical references (no less than 3/4 readings).