المستخلص: |
The post-Cold War world witnesseed a number of complex, compound and intertwined security shifts. At the theoretical level, the concept was expanded and deepened to include additional non-military dimensions. At the practical level, the security context at that and later stages saw several new threats, in addition to the rise of new players such as international terror and organized crime activities. Under this heading, the Arab Maghreb is one of the world regions in the geopolitical classification. It has suffered from security threats like terrorist acts, organized crime and increase in illegal migration towards the Mediterranean's north coasts. Thus, it started to draw the attention of American and European security institutions, mainly after the 2001 September 11 attacks of the US and the 2004 March 11 blasts of Madrid. Therefore, the present study attempts to answer the question: Where is the Arab Maghreb in the EU-US security perspective? There are four sections to discuss the strategic importance of the Arab Maghreb, the European perspective, the American perspective and whether the above two are competitive or integrated. It is concluded that both function as if the states of the region were only guided by Western policies, initiatives and projects, without having choice in their strategic approaches or political decision-making. They also give an impression that these countries have been captive to such plans, without consolidating their house (the Maghreb Federation) to become a negotiation power making more gains and less concessions. That makes the revival of the institution an urgent strategic necessity. If political and economic aspects have failed, security threats may push for integration.
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