ABSTRACT
The Mediterranean lies at the intersection of three critical regions for US foreign policy: Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The chapter briefly outlines the historical evolution of US attitudes towards the Mediterranean, from the Cold War to the post-9/11 periods, before concentrating on the contemporary situation. This has been shaped, for the US, by three events: the Eurozone crisis and its impact on southern Europe; the 2011 Arab uprisings and the instability they have unleashed; and the refugee crisis which intensified after 2015. The chapter shows that the US outlook towards the Mediterranean under the two Obama administrations (2009–16) was shaped by, first, a shift in the global US focus away from the broader region towards Asia and, second, an attempt to achieve a more realist policy by aligning means and ends. It investigates the US policies towards the three Mediterranean sub-regions, the eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and southern Europe with respect to security and geopolitics; and energy, political economy and migration. The chapter argues that US policy towards the Mediterranean remains fragmented and that this may only change in future if vital US interests are perceived to be at stake.
