Contained in:
  • Eirene e Atena
  • Edited by Fulvio Attinà, Luciano Bozzo, Marco Cesa, Sonia Lucarelli
Book Chapter

Il Mediterraneo, tra unità, frammentazione e oblio

  • Federica Bicchi

In academic and/or cultural debate, the word «Mediterranean» elicits mixed reactions and is revealing of normative considerations and the role of politics. This chapter explores two different perspectives that emerge from the extensive literature on this subject, and suggests a third, inspired by the contemporary trend of the debate (or rather, its absence). First, the chapter examines conceptions of the Mediterranean as a unitary entity or political actor in and of itself. The Mediterranean as a «cradle of civilization», originally described by Braudel, has been taken up more recently by Horden and Purcell, who emphasized the central role of connectivity between local communities, and by the Italian school of geo-philosophy headed by Bassano, for whom the Mediterranean is a specific value system to be respected. A second perspective emphasizes instead the Mediterranean as an area of conflict, characterized by deep fault lines. Huntington's position, captured by the expression «clash of civilizations», has been taken up and reworked by the post-colonial perspective, which sees the Mediterranean as an area characterized by permanent tensions. The chapter suggests a third option, however, noting that the word «Mediterranean» is disappearing from political vocabularies.

  • Keywords:
  • Mediterranean,
  • Mediterranean Sea,
  • cradle of civilization,
  • clash of civilizations,
+ Show More

Federica Bicchi

LSE, London School of Economics, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0003-0897-489X

  1. Abrahamian, Ervand. 2003. “The US media, Huntington and September 11.” Third World Quarterly 24, 3: 529-44.
  2. Abulafia, David. 2011. “Mediterranean History as Global History.” History and Theory 50, 2: 220-28.
  3. Adler, Emanuel, Federica Bicchi, Beverly Crawford, and Raffaella Del Sarto. 2006. The Convergence of Civilizations: Constructing a Mediterranean Region. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  4. Albera, Dionigi, Maryline Crivello, and Mohamed Tozy. 2016. “Introduction.” In Dictionnaire de la Méditerranée, eds. D. Albera, M. Crivello, et M. Tozy. Aix-Marseille: Actes Sud.
  5. Albera, Dionigi. 2006. “Anthropology of the Mediterranean: Between crisis and renewal.” History and Anthropology 17, 2: 109-33.
  6. Audisio, Gabriel. 2002. Jeunesse de la Méditerranée. Parigi: Gallimard.
  7. Bialasiewicz, Louisa, Giaccaria, Jones, A., et Minca, C. 2013. “Re-scaling ‘EU’rope: EU macro-regional fantasies in the Mediterranean.” European Urban and Regional Studies 20, 1: 59-76.
  8. Bicchi, Federica. 2007. European Foreign Policy Making toward the Mediterranean. New York-Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  9. Bicchi, Federica. 2011. “The Union for the Mediterranean, or the Changing Context of Euro-Mediterranean Relations.” Mediterranean Politics 16, 1: 3-19.
  10. Biscop, Sven. 2012. “Mediterranean Mayhem: Lessons for European Crisis Management.” In An Arab Springboard for EU Foreign Policy?, edited by S. Biscop, R. Balfour, and M. Emerson, 1-21. Bruxelles: Academia Press (Egmont Paper 54).
  11. Bottici, Chira, and Benoit Challand. 2006. “Rethinking political myth: The clash of civilizations as a self-fulfilling prophecy.” European Journal of Social Theory 9, 3: 315-36.
  12. Bouchard, N. 2011. “Italy’s Geophilosophies of the Mediterranean.” Annali d’Italianistica 29: 343-62.
  13. Bourguet, M.-N., B.Lepetit, D. Nordman, et M. Sinarellis. 1998. L’invention scientifique de la Méditerranée: Égypte, Morée, Algérie. Paris.
  14. Braudel, Fernand. 1949. La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à l’époque de Philippe II. Parigi: Armand Colin.
  15. Braudel, Fernand. 1972. The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Londra: Fontana/Collins.
  16. Bromberger, C. 2006. “Towards an Anthropology of the Mediterranean.” History and Anthropology 17, 2: 91-107.
  17. Buzan, Barry. 19912. People, States, and Fear. Hemel Hempstead (UK)/Boulder: Harvester Wheatsheaf, Lynne Rienner.
  18. Cassano, Franco. 2005. Il pensiero meridiano. Bari: Laterza.
  19. Chambers, I. 2008. Mediterranean crossings: The politics of an interrupted modernity. Duke University Press.
  20. Dalgaard, C.-J., N. Kaarsen, O. Olsson, and Selaya. 2018. Roman Roads to Prosperity: Persistence and Non-Persistence of Public Goods Provision Working Paper in Economics 722. University of Gothenburg.
  21. De Cesari, C. 2017. “Museums of Europe: Tangles of Memory, Borders, and Race.” Museum Anthropology 40, 1: 18-35.
  22. de Pina-Cabral, J. 1989. “The Mediterranean as a category of regional comparison: a critical view.” Current Anthropology 30, 3: 399-406.
  23. Deprest, F. 2002. “L’invention géographique de la Méditerranée: éléments de réflexion.” L’Espace géographique 31, 1: 73-92.
  24. Fukuyama, Francis. 1992. The end of history and the last man. Londra: Hamish Hamilton.
  25. Gerges, F. A. 1999. America and political Islam: Clash of cultures or clash of interests? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  26. Giaccaria, F., and C. Minca. 2011. “The Mediterranean alternative.” Progress in Human Geography 35, 3: 345-65.
  27. Gillespie, Richard, and Frederic Volpi. 2017. Routledge Handbook of Mediterranean Politics. London: Routledge.
  28. Guarracino, S. 2007. Mediterraneo: immagini, storie e teorie da Omero a Braudel. Milano: Bruno Mondadori.
  29. Horden, Peregrine and N. Purcell. 2000. The corrupting sea: a study of Mediterranean history. Oxford (Uk)-Malden (Mass): Blackwell.
  30. Horden, Peregrine and N. Purcell. 2006. “The Mediterranean and “the New Thalassology”.” The American Historical Review 111, 3: 722-40.
  31. Huntington, Samuel. 1993. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72, 3: 58-93.
  32. Huntington, Samuel. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon e Schuster.
  33. Izzo, J.-C., et T. Fabre. 2000. La Méditerranée française, vol. 9. Parigi: Maisonneuve et Larose.
  34. Jepperson, R. J., A. Wendt, et J. Katzenstein. 1996. Norms, identity, and culture in national security. In The Culture of National Security. Norms and Identity in World Politics ed. by J. Katzenstein, 271-89. New York: Columbia University Press.
  35. Johns, J., and E. Savage‐Smith. 2003. “The Book of Curiosities: A Newly Discovered Series of Islamic Maps.” Imago Mundi 55, 1: 7-24.
  36. Katzenstein, J., edited by. 1996. The Culture of National Security. Norms and Identity in World Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.
  37. King, R. 1998. “The Mediterranean: Europe’s Rio Grande.” In The Frontiers of Europe, edited by M. Anderson and E. Bort, 35-72. Londra-Washington: Pinter.
  38. Marino, J. A. 2004. “The Exile and His Kingdom: The Reception of Braudel’s Mediterranean.” The Journal of Modern History 76, 3: 622-52.
  39. Mattingly, D. J. 2013. Imperialism, power, and identity: Experiencing the Roman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  40. Morris, I. 2003. “Mediterraneanization.” Mediterranean Historical Review 18, 2: 30-55.
  41. Pace, M. 2006. The Politics of Regional Identity: Meddling with the Mediterranean. Londra-New York: Routledge.
  42. Petri, R. 2016. “The Mediterranean Metaphor in Early Geopolitical Writings.” History 101, 348: 671-91
  43. Ruel, A. 1991. “L’invention de la Méditerranée.” Vingtième Siècle. Revue d’histoire 32: 7-14.
  44. Said, E. 1978. Orientalism: Western representations of the Orient. New York: Pantheon.
  45. Savage-Smith, E. 2014. “Cartography.” In A Companion to Mediterranean History, edited by Horden and S. Kinoshita, 90-99. London: John Wiley e Sons.
  46. Schumacher, T., A. Marchetti, and T. Demmelhuber. 2017. The Routledge Handbook on the European Neighbourhood Policy. London: Routledge.
PDF
  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Pages: 153-165
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2022 Author(s)

XML
  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2022 Author(s)

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Il Mediterraneo, tra unità, frammentazione e oblio

Authors

Federica Bicchi

Language

Italian

DOI

10.36253/978-88-5518-595-0.13

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Eirene e Atena

Book Subtitle

Studi di politica internazionale in onore di Umberto Gori

Editors

Fulvio Attinà, Luciano Bozzo, Marco Cesa, Sonia Lucarelli

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

208

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/978-88-5518-595-0

ISBN Print

978-88-5518-594-3

eISBN (pdf)

978-88-5518-595-0

Series Title

Studi e saggi

Series ISSN

2704-6478

Series E-ISSN

2704-5919

278

Fulltext
downloads

127

Views

Export Citation

1,341

Open Access Books

in the Catalogue

2,191

Book Chapters

3,790,127

Fulltext
downloads

4,399

Authors

from 923 Research Institutions

of 65 Nations

64

scientific boards

from 348 Research Institutions

of 43 Nations

1,247

Referees

from 380 Research Institutions

of 38 Nations