Policy Studies /
Papers / Reports
- Policy Study
Challenges and opportunities for local authorities in supporting Euro-Mediterranean cooperation
The study examines how local and regional authorities (LRAs) can contribute to regional cooperation of Mediterranean countries.
6 July 2025
- Policy Study
Social Protection Reforms in the MENA Region: Possibilities and Challenges
This paper reviews the weaknesses of the social protection systems in the MENA region that were made evident by the COVID-19 pandemic, and identifies challenges and oportunities to implement reforms to achieve comprehensive solutions.
12 May 2022
- Policy Study
Liberty’s Doom? Artificial Intelligence in Middle Eastern Security
This Policy Study aims to examine these questions and dilemmas raised by AI in the MENA through a European policy lens paying particular attention to border management, surveillance, defence and regulation.
1 May 2022
- Paper
Democratic Change and Urbanisation in the Aftermath of the Arab Revolts: Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Cooperation in Local Urban Development in Morocco and Tunisia
In its response to the Arab revolts, the EU only engaged marginally with their urban causes, and above all from a technical rather than political perspective. Euro-Mediterranean cultural cooperation programmes were an exception.
15 July 2020
- Paper
The Shaping of Anti-Democratic Discourses and What to Do About It
The securitisation of the EU’s approach towards its Southern Neighbourhood put on the back burner other important issues such as state reform and socioeconomic development.
14 November 2019
- Report
The Contribution of Local and Regional Authorities to Regional Integration in the Mediterranean
The study examines how local and regional authorities (LRAs) can contribute to regional integration of Mediterranean countries, in particular in the field of trade, infrastructure, governance, labour mobility, research and innovation and higher educa...
10 September 2019
- Paper
The New-Old Elites and their Relations with the EU: The Cases of Egypt and Tunisia
Tunisia and Egypt are two countries that have experienced the fall of longstanding authoritarian leaders. Transitions in both countries then took entirely different directions.
16 April 2019
- Policy Study
Future of Syria
Projecting a government structure for post-conflict Syria is a cumbersome task. Post-conflict Syria would have to deal with issues such as reconciliation, protection of minorities, security sector reform and reconstruction and development.
10 April 2017
- Policy Study
Transformation in Tunisia: The First Five Years
Over the past six years, Tunisia has been testing new avenues of political order. The transition features several elements of hybridity and fragility, remaining a work in progress and producing a significant number of uncertainties.
9 January 2017
- Policy Study
The Arab Transitions in a Changing World. Building Democracies in Light of International Experiences
The outbreak of the Arab uprisings led most of us to think that we were witnessing the fourth or the late third wave of democratization. However, the developments in the southern Mediterranean region contradict the transition paradigm.
9 May 2016
- Paper
The State of Arab Statehood Reflections on Failure, Resilience and Collapse
State failure triggered the upheaval known as the Arab Spring. The increasing number of Arab states on the brink of collapse and the rising phenomenon of fragmented central state authority invite to revisit – and relaunch – the ‘Arab state deba...
14 September 2015
- Paper
The Tunisian Transition: Torn Between Democratic Consolidation and Neo-Conservatism in an Insecure Regional Context
The Tunisian transition is a very particular and unique case, and not a “model”. Compared to other states in the MENA region, it is the only country where a comprehensive process of democratic consolidation is taking place so far.
19 August 2015