The Quest for Intercultural Dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean Region: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

This paper tackles the question of intercultural dialogue in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It focuses mainly on a fundamental point in the now persistent intercultural swing that the Euro-Mediterranean relations have been recently experiencing: that is the opportunities and challenges for an effective intercultural dialogue that could lead to a spill-over effect in this partnership. In this analysis, several sub-topics and questions are clearly brought into focus, among these are: how do security considerations necessitate a vigorous intercultural dialogue in the region?; how do the two sides of the Mediterranean perceive each other?; Is there a shared perception on main concepts, such as “security” and “intercultural dialogue”?; how is the recent debate over the rising importance of cultural factors is mainly derived out of security concerns?; in the same venue, to what extent has the intercultural dialogue has worked as a security building measure?; what are the “dialogue strategies” that are actually in operation to bridge the gap between the two sides of the Mediterranean region?; to what extent are those strategies responding to the need of an effective cultural dialogue?; and finally, what are the opportunities and challenges that exist in the international and regional context that could enable\hinder the two sides of the Mediterranean to deal with cultural issues effectively. These questions are tackled by first analyzing how an effective intercultural dialogue is becoming more and more a necessity in the framework of the EMP, deriving its importance mainly as a security and stability requirement. Then, the analysis brings into focus the experience of intercultural dialogue and its various mechanisms seeking the assessment of their effectiveness and impact. Finally, the paper attempts to investigate into the existing opportunities and challenges that could enable and hinder the two sides of the Mediterranean to deal with cultural issues effectively.