EUROPE AND ITS ‘OTHER’: FREE TRADE AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGINERIES OF EURO-MEDITERRANEAN POLITICS

The creation of a Free Trade Area is the main pillar on which regionalization in the Mediterranean has been pursued since the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in 1995. The aim of this paper is to reflect upon the relation between commercial integration and region-building in the Mediterranean from an interpretative perspective, in order to offer a critical evaluation of the aims, the impact and the evolution of Euro-Mediterranean policies. To this end, we will show some evidence about the intensity and spatiality of cross-Mediterranean trade relations. We will see how the idea of constructing a Mediterranean region does indeed coexist and conflict with other geographical imaginaries: the idea of the Mediterranean as a border and the attempts to establish a regime of managed and differential relations in the area. Moreover, we will present the different delimitations which have been proposed for the Euro-Mediterranean area, in order to give an idea of the struggle between alternative geopolitical representations which is behind regionalization strategies in the Mediterranean. We will discuss the attempts to use conditionality to promote reforms in the partner countries, and the Eurocentric character of such attempts. Finally, we will reflect upon the concept of ‘selective’ Europeanization: the spatial metaphor that, in our opinion, best captures the content and the outcome of the recurrent attempts to construct a Mediterranean region

Politiche pubbliche e orti condivisi a Roma: tra promozione e controllo

Gli orti condivisi sono stati interpretati in letteratura come pratiche attraverso cui i cittadini possono reclamare il loro diritto alla città, ma anche come forme di governance collaborativa in un contesto di neoliberismo. Il lavoro si propone di riflettere su questa ambivalenza e sui suoi effetti sulle politiche pubbliche, attraverso l’analisi del caso di Roma. Dopo una ricostruzione della diffusione degli orti urbani a Roma e delle risposte istituzionali messe in campo dal comune negli ultimi dieci anni, il contributo si focalizza sull’analisi del “Regolamento per l’affidamento in comodato d’uso e per la gestione di aree a verde di proprietà di Roma Capitale compatibili con la destinazione a orti/Giardini urbani”, approvato a Luglio 2015. L’analisi – basata su fonti secondarie, osservazione partecipata e interviste in profondità – consente di mettere in luce gli effetti perversi e contraddittori di questo intervento, nominalmente volto a promuovere il radicamento, l’attivismo e la partecipazione delle comunità locali

cross border cooperation in the euro mediterranean and beyond between policy transfers and regional adaptations

Since 2007, the Euro-Mediterranean area has been included among the mesoregions covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Such a choice has not been exempted from criticisms, insofar as the geographical coverage of the "European Neighbourhood" has been judged too wide and too diverse to be the object of a single policy. The aims and scope of the European Union's strategies towards Mediterranean countries, moreover, are different from those towards the Eastern European Countries, while policy instruments, implementation procedures and political narratives are more or the less the same. The paper addresses the case of one of those policy instruments: Cross-Border Cooperation, an important component of the ENP; it presents a comparative analysis of Cross-Border Cooperation initiatives in the Euro-Mediterranean area vis-a-vis similar initiatives launched in other ENP's mesoregions. The implementation of the policy, it is argued, is based indeed upon a mixture of policy transfers and local adaptations, and produces both homogenizations and differentiations. The aim of the paper is to see how a single policy instrument (Cross-Border Cooperation within the ENP) is adapted to the specificities of each mesoregion, what kind of regionalization and bordering/cross-bordering processes it produces, and what role the Euro-Mediterranean area is supposed to play in this frame

Talenti locali, pubblico nazionale, format globale: X Factor Italia tra omologazione e adattamento

I talent show sono forme di intrattenimento televisivo diffuse a partire dagli anni Duemila. Una delle più popolari tipologie di talent show è costituita dai cosiddetti talent show musicali: si tratta di spettacoli costruiti attorno alle performances canore dei concorrenti, il cui scopo è individuare una nuova pop star da lanciare nel mercato discografico. Diversi format (1) di talent show musicali sono stati ideati in diversi paesi negli ultimi quindici anni, e successivamente si sono diffusi in tutto il mondo. L’origine di questo tipo di prodotti è da ricercarsi in Gran Bretagna, dove nel 2001 è stato ideato il primo talent show musicale (Pop Idol) seguito nel 2004 dal format X Factor. Entrambi sono format di grande successo e diffusione, tuttora prodotti in diverse edizioni. L’obiettivo di questo articolo è porre l’accento sulla rilevanza dei talent show nel quadro di una riflessione in chiave geografica e territoriale sulla musica, attraverso un focus sulla circolazione dei format e sulle loro mutazioni e adattamenti

La cooperazione transfrontaliera tra Italia e Tunisia: esperienze e prospettive

The article presents the main results of a field research conducted be-tween 2012 and 2013 on the Italy-Tunisia border, aimed at investigating regional development options through policies and practices of cross-border cooperation. Starting from the specific context of the Italy-Tunisia border, the article presents the main aims, achievements, limits and prospects for cross-border cooperation across the channel of Sicily, also in light of the perceptions and expectations of local private and public stakeholders. The priorities to be addressed at different scales in order to improve the impact of the cooperation between Sicily and Tunisia in-clude, in our opinion, the support to democratization in Tunisia and to the local civil society; to pay attention to the social as well as the eco-nomic aspects of cooperation; to ensure to local actors both political and financial support; to improve the cross-border cooperation instrument through a better targeting; the setting of a coherent multilevel political framework for addressing each of these issues effectively

La cooperación transfronteriza en la región del Trifinio y la difusión de modelos europeos de gobernanza de las fronteras en América Latina

En la región del Trifinio se concentran algunas de las experiencias más avanzadas de cooperación transfronteriza de América Latina. Dichas experiencias son promovidas por las instituciones europeas y se han inspirado fuertemente en el modelo europeo de gobernanza de las regiones transfronterizas. Al mismo tiempo, este modelo no ha sido simplemente trasladado de la Unión Europea a la América Latina, sino que también se ha adaptado a las condiciones del contexto y a las características específicas de los procesos de reterritorialización e integración macrorregional que tienen lugar en la región y, más en general, en América Latina. A la luz del debate relativo a la europeización, el artículo pretende mostrar cómo el potencial y los límites de este tipo de iniciativas pueden ser adecuadamente comprendidos solo a través del balance que se crea, caso por caso, entre contaminación transnacional y adaptación local, y entre la transferencia de modelos y narrativas (que son típicos de la Unión Europea), y la apropiación de estos por parte de los actores locales. Some of the most advanced cross-border cooperation initiatives in Latin American are to be found in the Trifinio region. These have been promoted by European institutions and have been inspired by the European model of cross-border governance. The model, however, has not simply been transplanted from Europe, but has been adapted to local circumstances and to the specifics of rescaling and macro-regional integration processes in the region, and in Latin America more in general. In the light of academic debates about Europeanization, this article aims to show how both the potential and the limits of such initiatives may only be properly understood in light of a balance between transnational contamination and local adaptation, and between the transfer of models and narratives that are typical of the EU, and their appropriation by local actors

Mapping and profiling of Albanian diaspora: an economic and social survey in five Italian regions: an overview of the situation in France and Belgium

The aim of the book is to better understand the characteristics of the Albanian diaspora in the three countries, investigating plans and expectations of migrating Albanian citizens with particular interest to a possible direct or indirect contribution and investment. Diaspora and diaspora networks are indeed considered key possible actors to economic and financial contribution to the country of origin, besides the help they grant through family remittances. More particularly, they are recognized for their more trusted and lasting relationships with domestic actors, being able to merge self-economic and solidarity motivation to invest in the country of origin and also be able to mobilize larger networks and forms for capitals and resources. Based on these assumptions, the research had been designed to verify and analyse the extent and the conditions in which could the Albania diaspora abroad be a relevant economic player benefiting the development and investment policies in Albania. The goal is not to make a comparison between Albanian Diaspora communities in Italy, France, and Belgium, but rather to provide an analysis on the driving factor, which has stimulated the migration in these countries. Meanwhile considering that the Albanian Diaspora in Italy is amongst the largest Diaspora abroad, the research is mainly focused on the different patterns of communities in the main five regions of Italy. Moreover, it provides a profiling of Albanian citizens residing in Italy, who have declared an interest in investing in Albania, in order to offer an instrument aimed at strengthening the role of the diaspora for the development of Albania

Interventions on European nationalist populism and bordering in time of emergencies

Peer reviewe

La reterritorialización de la región del Trifinio: las mancomunidades locales y la difusión del modelo europeo de cooperación transfronteriza en América Latina

En la región del Trifinio (zona de frontera entre Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador) se concentran algunas de las experiencias más avanzadas de cooperación transfronteriza de América Latina. A la luz de la experiencia local del Trifinio, el artículo trata en primer lugar de comprender la relación entre la difusión de la cooperación transfronteriza y el proceso de reterritorialización del Estado y de reorganización de su espacialidad política y administrativa. Seguidamente, el artículo pretende reflexionar sobre el tema de la europeización. Los resultados del estudio revelan que la difusión de prácticas de cooperación transfronteriza consiste, en parte, en una transferencia de modelos que son típicos de la Unión Europea y que, en parte, dichas iniciativas se adaptan a las especificidades del contexto en el que se actúa.In the region of Trifinio (border area between Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) focus some of the more experimental cross-border cooperation in Latin America. In the light of local experience Trifinio, the article is first to understand the relationship between the spread of cross-border cooperation and reterritorialization process of reorganization of the State and its political and administrative spatiality. Next, the article aims to reflect on the issue of Europeanization. Study results reveal that dissemination practices for cross-border cooperation is, in part, on a transfer of models that are typical of the European Union and, in part, these initiatives are tailored to the specific context in which it operates

La comunità albanese in Italia: caratteristiche e sfide tra immigrazione e integrazione. Il caso della Lombardia e dei lavoratori altamente qualificati

In 2021, Albanians were the second-largest nationality of first-generation migrants to Italy. This research provides a snapshot of Albanians in Italy who are working in sectors with the potential for future benefit to Albania. It examines the socio-economic characteristics, expectations, and plans of Albanians in Italy (employed in the agri-business, cultural preservation and heritage, and social enterprise sec-tors, as well as a residual category that includes other sectors). The Italian region with the highest number of Albanian immigrants is Lombardy, the territorial focus of this research, which comprised an in-depth questionnaire administered to 134 respondents. Key outcomes show that skilled Albanians are highly integrated into local society: most respondents have acquired Italian citizenship, 70% are in full-time work, and overall their income is higher than the national average. Their relationship with Italy is not always smooth, with many haunted by memories of difficulties in the early days following their arrival, and continued stigmatization. Despite this, most see their future in Italy while experiencing a complicated relationship with Albania, a place to return for short visits – but perhaps never to settle in again