THINK-MED is the communication project that manages a network of associations, research centers, institutes, observatories, think-tanks, universities, departments and institutions focused on political, economic and cultural issues on the Mediterranean, in order to share knowledge and researches. Project aims to reach all those who, at different levels, “make” the Mediterranean scenario and all those who approach the Mediterranean not only as a geographical area, but as a cultural and political reality as well.
THINK-MED.net is the official voice of the Mediterranean Common Houses and it wants to be a space to exchange ideas, studies and knowledge; a place where intellectuals, experts and professionals working in the Mediterranean can meet, receive and provide information, share projects, develop contacts and scientific and economic relations, realize new visions.
An action of diplomacy from the bottom, which aims to strengthen the Mediterranean consciousness, towards rethinking the role of the Mediterranean in a global scenario and starting a debate on the new forms integration can assume in the coming decades.
Despite remarkable difficulties in “building” a Mediterranean political entity or a common area of cooperation, the idea of euro-Mediterranean integration still remains one of the essential paths for European foreign policy.
Overcoming “particularism” and moving towards a common Mediterranean, present substantial pitfalls and complexities that lead to continuous adjustments in policy making and to a constant diplomatic and cultural effort, contradicted by continuing crisis scenarios.
The “Arab Springs”, the war in Libya, the Syrian conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the economic and financial crisis in Europe (which involved especially the Euro-Mediterranean Countries), the position of Turkey: all these elements have destabilized the Mediterranean integration process, placing new demands and new questions.
The Mediterranean, especially in the current global scenario, continues to be an essential element of connection between institutional and cultural contests and different markets. A central hub of interests, strategies and visions, that not only bonds the Mediterranean Countries but it involves political and economic realities of the world.
After the failure of the Union for the Mediterranean experience, is it possible to carry on with the Mediterranean integration process? Is it possible to rethink “that formula” and to imagine new models of political, economic and cultural integration?
Essential questions that move the Think-Med platform, which aims to be, first of all, a new way of thinking about the Mediterranean.