Pax Mediterranea : a Maltese and Yugoslav perspective

Abstract

Events in the Mediterranean post World War II, have recurrently attracted the attention of numerous policy makers and observers of world affairs. The Arab-Israeli conflict, the Suez Canal crisis, the Lebanese civil war, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in North Africa and the more recent Bosnia and Kosovo tragedy followed up by Nato intervention, are just a few of the events which became the concern not only of the people living in the countries directly involved, but also of most people around of the world. As a result, ''the Mediterranean" and the need to take measures to ensure "peace" therein, have become topics that have forced themselves more and more often on the agendas of international meetings. The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) was one of the first major international conferences where a Mediterranean dimension was introduced and the principle that there could be no peace and security in Europe, without peace and security in the Mediterranean was affirmed. More recently, the European Union (EU) has become more aware and sensitive to Mediterranean problems, particularly due to the growth in migration facing its southern members from the southern shores of the Mediterranean. The reinforcement of the EU' s Mediterranean policy is based on the fact that if a solution is not found to the economic and political problems threatening the Southern Mediterranean, these problems will simply be "exported northwards in the form of population movements and serious threats to stability and security". But if the need for a ''Pax Mediterranea" is today taken for granted, it is essentially thanks to the tireless efforts of Malta and Yugoslavia, which have made the Mediterranean, one of the cornerstones in their respective foreign policy. These two countries were driven in their motivation by their status of neutrality and non-alignment between the two blocs, and the need to ensure their own security in a turbulent Mediterranean region dominated by the forces of the Superpowers, to which they were exposed as a result of their respective geographic location, and their particular political situation. As from 1979, Malta was to be without any foreign military forces in its territory for the first time in centuries. On the other hand, Yugoslavia was engaging in a form of communism independent from the Soviet Union, at a time, which saw the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet forces wanting to assert Soviet influence in the region. The aim of this dissertation is that of examining the various initiatives and efforts affected and carried out by both Malta and Yugoslavia in their strife for peace and security in the Mediterranean, and their insistence on the need for a means of dialogue which would serve to avert problems before they arise, or otherwise help to settle them peacefully.