Review of Surveys on Euro–Mediterranean Relations, and an Introduction to the Elite Survey in MEDRESET

With the dramatic changes in the political sphere of the Mediterranean countries, new challenges have emerged in the existing framework of relations between the EU and its southern neighbours. In order to thoroughly understand how the EU practices have affected the Mediterranean countries, and identify the outcomes of the adopted policies, MEDRESET introduces the Elite Survey within its Work Package 3, which will enable us to explore Euro–Mediterranean relations through fieldwork in selected countries. The survey findings will serve as background to develop alternative visions for a more inclusive partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean. In consideration of this, the present paper is devoted to the conceptual and methodological framework of the MEDRESET Work Package 3, which incorporates the Elite Survey and its design into a relevant scope of research. To this end, the paper reviews existing surveys conducted in the Mediterranean in order to define the current outlook. It also identifies the gaps in these studies to discuss how the Elite Survey can contribute to the existing literature through the fieldwork data, and details the analytical framework and methodology for the survey.