Towards the construction of a Mare Nostrum: Why the European Union needs to develop its own form of Intercultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean.

This article looks at the Mediterranean Region as a mare nostrum, a common sea that has enabled different civilisations to interact throughout history: a geographic region, connected by the Italian peninsula, but also an important cultural and political area. Specifically, it observes the approach of the European Union towards this region in order to analyse the various policies adopted in this context and understand which partnership, or lack thereof, exists among its different countries. Indeed, this study starts by means of a descriptive examination which considers the historical roots and the more recent political and strategical developments of the relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Examining the concepts of multiculturalism and interculturalism, it then argues — in a normative shift — for the construction of a specific intercultural dialogue by the European Union in the region, as the basis for common understanding and mutual security.