The OSCE and Effective Multilateralism in the Mediterranean: A Comparative Analysis

The Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) is widely credited as an East–West forum, but its Mediterranean dimension is less well known. The foundation for the OSCE Mediterranean Partnership was laid in the 1975 Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which recognised that improving security could not be limited to Europe but must also extend to the Mediterranean area. Since then, the OSCE has established a structured Partnership with Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia involving both political dialogue and practical cooperation along the OSCE’s comprehensive definition of security. However, the Partnership’s full potential has been hampered by a lack of resources and political prioritisation. This is a missed opportunity because in dealing with some of the Euro-Mediterranean area’s most serious security challenges, the OSCE has some particular comparative advantages.

Paper prepared in the context of the New-Med Research Network, December 2021.