The two sides of the Mediterranean : a discussion

Abstract

This paper is a discussion of policy lock-in and lock-out in terms of how these exist and operate in the economic and political spheres of several of the Northern and Southern littoral countries of the Mediterranean. It describes the informal strategic bind that the EU finds itself in as it often ends up facing problems of others which are shunted on to it. Policy lock-in often includes a wide range of inter-related areas, as well as several forms of bias that impinge on both political and economic institutions. The paper also discusses the type of society that may be needed to handle policy lock-in, and this is considered in terms of social democratic liberalism and the necessity of a constantly learning society.