A view from the ground : human security threats to irregular migrants across the Mediterranean

Lutterbeck, D. (2014). A view from the ground : human security threats to irregular migrants across the Mediterranean. In O. Grech, & M. Wohlfeld (Eds.), Migration in the Mediterranean : human rights, security and development perspectives (pp. 124-131). Msida: Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studiespeer-reviewe

The Paradox of Gendarmeries

This paper describes and explains the evolution of gendarmerie-type forces, i.e. police forces with a military status, over the past three decades. It focuses on their institutional features and functions, including material and human resources, and uses case studies from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to illustrate these characteristics in different contexts. The overall development of gendarmeries has been a somewhat paradoxical one. On the one hand, most of these forces have witnessed a considerable expansion, and come to assume an increasingly prominent role in addressing many of the currently most important security challenges, ranging from border control and counterterrorism to public order tasks in international peace operations. On the other hand, there has also been a trend towards the demilitarization of gendarmeries, which in some European countries has ultimately led to their dissolution and integration into the civilian police. The paper suggests an explanation of these seemingly contradictory developments with reference to two broad â and at least partly opposing â trends: the convergence of internal and external security agendas, which to a large extent is a post-Cold War phenomenon; and the demilitarization of internal security, which is a more long-term historical trend and part of the more general democratization process. Based on this analysis, the paper predicts that in the long run gendarmeries are likely to be further demilitarized, eventually losing their formal military status, although in the context of international peace operations militarized gendarmerie forces are expected to play an increasingly significant part

Arab Uprisings and Armed Forces

Since late 2010, an unprecedented wave of protests has swept across much of the Arab world. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the armed forces when confronted with anti-regime uprisings that demand greater political freedoms or even regime change. Drawing on the cases of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria, it argues that the degree of institutionalization of the armed forces and their relationship to society at large can account for different responses to pro-reform uprisings

Pragmatism rather than backlash : Moroccan perceptions of Western democracy promotion

Democratisation has been the stated goal of many Western states’ policies in the Arab world since the end of the cold war.1 This aim became something of a foreign policy mantra after the Al Qaeda attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York: this and subsequent attacks in Madrid and London led Western governments to stress democratization in Arab countries as one way of addressing the “root causes” of terrorism. The West has not applied its democratizing zeal evenly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, however. Morocco, as one of the most liberal regimes of the region and, simultaneously, both a victim of terror and the country of origin of some terrorists ac- tive in Western Europe, has been a main target of Western democracy promotion in recent years. Whether democracy promotion – including support for civil society, political parties and independent media, assistance to the parliament and the judiciary, electoral observation missions, positive and negative conditionalities, and public praise and criticism – has had any effect has been widely debated, within and outside the region.peer-reviewe

A long-lasting controversy : Western democracy promotion in Jordan

Since the end of the cold war and, in particular, the Al Qaeda attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States, Western governments have in their rhetoric stressed democratization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as a key policy goal. 1 The EU, the US and other Western countries have developed and extended their democracy promotion activities in the region, in particular democracy assistance to civil society, independent media, the judiciary, parliament and political parties. 2 Such assistance has at times been complemented with public criticism of perceived non-democratic behaviour and political conditionalities, i.e. making democratic reform a precondition for granting favours such as trade deals and development assistance.peer-reviewe

The desultory politics of mobility and the humanitarian-military border in the Mediterranean. Mare Nostrum beyond the sea

This article investigates the reshaping of the military-humanitarian border in the Mediterranean, focusing on the Italian military-humanitarian mission Mare Nostrum, that started for rescuing migrants at sea after the deaths of hundreds of migrants in October 2013 near the coasts of the island of Lampedusa. The main argument is that in order to understand the working of the military-humanitarian border at sea and its impacts, we must go beyond the space of the sea, and analysing it in the light of the broader functioning of migration governmentality. The notion of desultory politics of mobility is deployed here for describing the specific temporality of the humanitarian border working and its politics of visibility. In particular, an analytical gaze on the military-humanitarian operations at sea to rescue-and-control of migrants’ movements shows that what is at stake is the production of some practices of mobility as exceptional. Then, this article takes on Mare Nostrum operation for exploring the ways in which the military and the humanitarian are rearticulated and how they currently work together

The central Mediterranean migration route : rise, fall, and rise again

It has become common to divide the south-north migratory movements across the Mediterranean in recent years into three main routes. These being, the Western Mediterranean route, which leads from West African countries to Morocco, and from there to either mainland Spain or the Canary Islands. The Central Mediterranean route, which passes through Libya to either Italy or Malta, and which has been used by migrants from both West and East Africa. Finally, the Eastern Mediterranean route, which (in recent years) has led through Turkey and the Greek islands, and which has been used mainly by refugees fleeing from the civil war in Syria, but also by migrants hailing from other countries such as Afghanistan or Iraq. Even though all three routes have existed for the last two to three decades, their (relative) importance has varied considerably over time, depending —apart from the ‘pull factor’ exercised by the EU— on conditions in the countries of origin and transit, as well as migration control efforts in the countries of destination (and transit). The aim of this article is to explore the evolution of the Central Mediterranean route, where —after Italy— Malta has been the main entry point into the EU.peer-reviewe

The Paradox of Gendarmeries

This paper describes and explains the evolution of gendarmerie-type forces, i.e. police forces with a military status, over the past three decades. It focuses on their institutional features and functions, including material and human resources, and uses case studies from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to illustrate these characteristics in different contexts. The overall development of gendarmeries has been a somewhat paradoxical one. On the one hand, most of these forces have witnessed a considerable expansion, and come to assume an increasingly prominent role in addressing many of the currently most important security challenges, ranging from border control and counterterrorism to public order tasks in international peace operations. On the other hand, there has also been a trend towards the demilitarization of gendarmeries, which in some European countries has ultimately led to their dissolution and integration into the civilian police. The paper suggests an explanation of these seemingly contradictory developments with reference to two broad â and at least partly opposing â trends: the convergence of internal and external security agendas, which to a large extent is a post-Cold War phenomenon; and the demilitarization of internal security, which is a more long-term historical trend and part of the more general democratization process. Based on this analysis, the paper predicts that in the long run gendarmeries are likely to be further demilitarized, eventually losing their formal military status, although in the context of international peace operations militarized gendarmerie forces are expected to play an increasingly significant part

Arab Uprisings and Armed Forces

Since late 2010, an unprecedented wave of protests has swept across much of the Arab world. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the armed forces when confronted with anti-regime uprisings that demand greater political freedoms or even regime change. Drawing on the cases of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria, it argues that the degree of institutionalization of the armed forces and their relationship to society at large can account for different responses to pro-reform uprisings

Arab Uprisings and armed forces : between openness and resistance

Since late 2010 an unprecedented wave of popular uprisings calling for greater political freedoms, and in several countries even regime change, has swept across much of the Arab world. Following the Tunisian revolution in January 2011, which led to the toppling of the country’s long‐standing autocrat, Zine al‐Abidine Ben Ali, protest movements gained momentum in Egypt, where the country’s president for almost 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down after some three weeks of massive anti‐regime demonstrations. In Libya, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, who had ruled since 1967, was removed from power (and subsequently killed) after a sixmonths‐ long civil war between his regime and rebel fighters opposed to his rule. In countries such as Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, seemingly wellestablished leaders have also appeared increasingly shaky in the face of growing opposition movements calling for both greater political freedoms and an end to the regimes in power.peer-reviewe