ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the southern Mediterranean countries. It examines a reflection of global governance and the role of regional civil societies in it and takes some inspiration from the terminology of Niklas Luhmann, Richard Münch, and Immanuel Wallerstein. The chapter discusses the EU as an actor in international relations and particularly in relation to the Mediterranean region. It describes the problems and chances of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The spatio-temporal merger led to a clearer picture of the dynamics of world politics. Economics is by far the most important factor affecting the development speed of the international system. One of the characteristics of the post-Cold War period in Europe was that the foreign policies of the European states were defined according to the policies of the US administration. The socialization of the transatlantic partnership became internalized into the thinking of the national west European administrations.
