The (re)configuration of the Euro-Mediterranean space after the 2011 Arab uprisings: borders, politics and identity

Political events following the 2011 uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have contributed to a new conceptualisation (and management) of border issues. The tumultuous period had a dramatic effects on Europe and the southern Mediterranean countries. On the one hand, Europe is facing a continuous redefinition of its borders, especially in the southern neighbourhood but also in the eastern part of the continent. On the other hand, the MENA countries are part of a game in which the political elites deploy sectarian identity, narratives and symbols to neutralise dissent and (re-)assert control, even on borders, spaces and places. Notwithstanding the counter-revolutionary trend, the presence of ongoing civil conflicts, along with the escalation of regional competition over the past decade, has notably changed the political and social landscape in many countries. In this context, the Euro-Mediterranean space seems more and more unstable, and its margins porous. It has become a place of new (internal and external, physical and mental) barriers and systems. European space has been besieged by a new wave of populism that is strengthening national identities and putting a strain on the European Union as a cohesive space. Meanwhile, in some MENA countries, the repression of a new wave of mobilisation in 2019 is silencing counter-hegemonic movements that could potentially cross state and community borders, as well as ethnic and religious divides.