Maritime Commerce and Security in the Mediterranean and Adjacent Waters. Summary Report

Abstract:

The unity of the Mediterranean Sea, and its centrality to developments taking place in the larger international context, can be best appreciated by conceptualizing it as a “transit space” at the intersection of several geopolitical and geo-economical regions. Mediterranean countries and a growing number of external actors in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as Asia, intensively use this “inland sea” as a means of transport and communication and as an instrument of power projection.

In this context, maritime commerce and maritime security have emerged as key issues in the Mediterranean policy and economic debates. They can be seen as two faces of a larger question: how to preserve access to Mediterranean routes and maximize their use as their value is increased by the Mediterranean basin’s growing interdependence with global economics and geopolitics.