ABSTRACT
During the 1990s, relations between the Middle East and its European neighbours officially entered a new era. States in the two regions pledged mutual commitment to "peace, security and stability", to be achieved "by all means."1 Formal statements noted the two regions' common challenges and the need for exchange and co-operation, tolerance and shared prosperity:2 such was the tone of amity that Euro-Mediterranean liaisons were dubbed "Club Med". Europe appeared to want a long-term relationship which put regional ties on a new footing: what the European Union (EU) called "a quiet but effective dialogue"3 to establish a new partnership for the 21st century. By the end of the decade, however, the relationship was already under strain: according to one analysis, "lack of will" meant that even in it's the earliest phases the collaboration was in difficulty. 4
How should these developments be assessed? An effective, longterm co-operation across the Mediterranean would raise serious questions about recent analyses of political, social and cultural relationships between the two regions. Since the collapse of the Communist bloc, it has been argued, the Middle East has become the focus for Western anxiety and political hostility. Islam-and by extension the Middle East-has become the preferred global antagonist. Esposito observes that in place of the "Red Menace" has come fear of "the Green Menace". 5 In a similar vein Delanty comments that for European states "the East" remains a focus of hostility, "the only difference being that it has been pushed further southward."6 The formal aims of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership suggest a different perspective and hold an implication that such analyses are inappropriate.
