Introduction

Abstract

History took a dramatic turn in the Mediterranean in 2011. The course of events across the MENA region, which the press collectively came to call the ‘Arab Spring’, an expression that is as appealing as it is plainly misleading, changed the political landscape in the southern Mediterranean. While policy-making communities world-wide scramble to come to terms with the situation and look for appropriate courses of action, academic circles are also evaluating causes, implications, needs and opportunities that have emerged. As a promoter of dialogue and co-operation in the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC) has brought together in this book a broad array of thinkers and policy-makers from both shores of the Mediterranean to reflect on a diverse range of issues pertaining to the ‘Arab Spring’. They aim at highlighting key issues, challenges and opportunities as well as providing an analytical framework for evaluating those events.