Conflict and Identities in the Mediterranean Area - Admission/Application Essay Example

? CONFLICT AND IDENTITIES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA by Foundation – of Department of 25th July Conflict and Identities in the Mediterranean Area It is worth noting that in finding a common identity we do not necessarily have to neglect the main identity but find a common area of interaction (Anderzon, 2008, p.1). The Mediterranean is the meeting point of different cultures and civilizations. Indeed, more than 12 nations with different identities attract conflicts of identities within and between the states in the Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean region, countries have a mutual contrast in the political, social, and cultural aspects as each country defends its nationality and foreign groups acquire citizenship in such nations thus creating a multi-cultural region. Indeed, there are different meanings and identities of the Mediterranean area, which consist of various nationalities, cultures, religions, ethnics, traditions, and languages (Anderzon, 2008, p.1). Nevertheless, there have been attempts to achieve a common Mediterranean identity through the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Mediterranean identities have dynamic customs and social interpretation. Nevertheless, human mobility in the region, which have equally adopted new technologies of communication and doing things, seek to demean the staunch Mediterranean identities with a view of attaining a mutual identity. Indeed, social media and adoption of the education system seemingly result in a common identity in the Mediterranean based on the current trends that disregard indigenous cultural identities. Notably, Olive tree cultivation is one of the cultural identities in the Mediterranean though it faces conflicts from the competitive oil gloves from the irrigated areas and the cheaper seed-oils. However, as the Southeastern Mediterranean countries transform into democracies and open economies, they seemingly denounce the Mediterranean identity and adopt the Central or Eastern European countries identities (Europe House Zagreb, 2009, p.1). These nations no longer consider themselves multicultural but assume the uncultured identity (Europe House Zagreb, 2009, p.1). As such, we have two identities in the Mediterranean area where one is Arab and the other is European as Israel seeks to become a European nation. This will form another conflict between Israel and Arabs (Tarek, 2009, pp.3-6). Moreover, in the Mediterranean area there is a total disrespect for cultural diversity, minority cultures, and cultural intolerance as seen in political orientations in the region. Despite the effects of globalization, international interventions, and land allocation, we still have political, cultural, religious, military, and economic conflicts in the Mediterranean area (Europe House Zagreb, 2009, p.1). A dominant conflict and unresolved issues exist in the commercial shipping where there are two conflicting patterns: one pattern is identified with the transit only while another one entails calling at a port in a specific Mediterranean nation (Tarek, 2009, pp.3-6). There are also unresolved challenges in safeguarding underwater cultural heritage, managing shared fish stocks, protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems, and establishing secure marine areas. These conflicts call for new rules, new technologies, and new strategies to resolve them. We no longer have bridges at the sea, but walls, which demean the richness, culture, and life of the sea to generate unresolved conflicts in the Mediterranean region. In fact, this is clearer in the constant conflict between the Arab states and Israel as they struggle for power (Anderzon, 2008, p.1). Because of this conflict, we have rising organized crime and mafia like the Hamas in the Mediterranean region. These conflicts are even seen in sports where there seems to be a Mediterranean invention that accommodates two cultures which includes the Mediterranean culture and the sporting culture as seen in the Greek Olympics. More so, we can see another unresolved issue in the Mediterranean region where people living at the northern shore earn about twelve times more that those living at the southern coast (Tarek, 2009, pp.3-6). Another issue that has been a source of conflict in this region is the growth and movement of people. Illegal immigration has been alive in this region. Emigrants move towards Europe from the Middle East and North Africa, which are Arab and Islamic countries (Richardson 2009, pp.3-6). Emigrants pose a great challenge to the Christians in Europe. As such, this migration of people to mainly Italy and Spain through Tunisia and Morocco is a conflicting issue in the Mediterranean area (Richardson, 2009, pp.3-6). The international trade imbalance between north and south is also another unresolved issue in the Mediterranean area. Notably, the south imports only 10 percent of the EU's exports, but it exports about 46 percent of its product to the north resulting to a trade imbalance, and this leads to the conflict (Richardson, 2009,p p.3-6). Moreover, the 60 principal cities dump their wastewater at the Mediterranean Sea's littoral states, which provide food transport to the inhabitants (Richardson, 2009, pp.3-6). This results in an environmental conflict in this region. Furthermore, the states have different industrialization and parliamentary levels, thus resulting in different centers of powers, which lead to the weakening of the central state (Richardson, 2009, pp.3-6). Additionally, the discovery of oil and natural gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea poses a great potential for the conflict in the Mediterranean area (Stocker, 2012, pp.580-584). Ideally, countries in this region compete for resources in different areas thus exposing them to the conflict. Indeed, we already have the Israel-Egypt gas dispute (Stocker, 2012, pp.585-587) and the conflict to the rights of accessing the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the Mediterranean region (Stocker, 2012, pp.587-590). So, obviously, there are unresolved issues about the methods for determining the boundaries of EEZs. Despite the conflicting differences of the people in the Mediterranean area, there are notable unifying factors among them. The southern Mediterranean countries have found themselves in a difficult position, one that seemingly wipes away their Mediterranean roots, and tends to identify themselves as Central or Eastern European countries, as their economies and democracies open up, with their increased embrace of technology (Alessandri 2013, p. 9). Interactionism between people of individual communities is the biggest contributing factor to ending cultural differences between two or more societies with diverse cultural practices (Gugan 2013, p.342). New technology has improved the manner in which people globally interact. Technology, as experts point out, increasingly contributes to the unification of different people regardless of their cultural differences. This also has significant impacts and influences of the people of the Mediterranean region. Anderzon (2008, p. 1) notes that as the concept of global village unifies people in different continents, so does it in closely interacting communities, yet those that have diverse cultural practices and conflicts. The global village acts as a catalyst for the cultural differences exhibited by these communities. The growth of the standards of living among the people has far deeper effects on these people rather than the mere interactions among the communities (Europe House Zagreb, 2009, p. 1). It penetrates in the subcultural trends of the modern societies and dissects the cultural differences, neutralizing any form of conflicts. Moreover, technological advancement of the communities, especially with the adoption of communication media, has helped in further healing of the past differences. Increased levels of communication, regardless of the communication media used, helps people in realizing the various similarities they have. The ability of new technologies to unearth the similarities between the Mediterranean people greatly contributes to the creation of new economies and new democracies. Economies and democracies open enough for people to freely interact, mindless of their differentiating elements (Anderzon 2008, p. 1). The new technology has helped break the veil created by cultural beliefs and practices that portrayed the people as different. Now, they comfortably interact with one another via different mediums, cementing their relationships even more. Modernity in this region brings into existence new feelings of interdependence, good neighborhood among the people and high tolerance levels. The result is a culturally unified region without cultural differences, but minimal agitations. Modernity is blind on the differences that cultural beliefs tend to major on. For instance, the adoption and use of common languages by people of different cultures has increasingly helped seal the cracks created by cultural differences (Haddadi 1999, p. 5). The use of similar mediums of communication also contributes significantly to this unification of the Mediterranean region. These create new forms of interdependence among the people, widely opening their world to realize of the few differences among them. Experts in conflict resolution point out that through technology and professional skills, ethnic differences between the people of the Mediterranean. Technology facilitates the movement of tolerance and leads to the acceptance of diversity among the people. Technological infrastructure, as seen in the past, has improved the growth and interdependence practices among the people in the region. Many people in the region work together and conduct trade as a common people. Through technology, people in a region share from a common front, and think similarly. These can positively contribute to ending ethnical differences among the people of the Mediterranean. In fact, various proposals aimed at ending the historical conflict in the region have pointed out on technology as a potential unifying factor of these people (Halbreich 2013, n.p.). References Alessandri, E 2013, The Future Of Mediterranean Europe: Between The Euro Crisis And Arab Revolution Mediterranean Paper Series 2013. Available at: [Accessed 30 July 30, 2013] Anderzon, H., 2008. The Mediterranean identity: what is it and who uses it? Available at: [Accessed 25 July 2013]. Europe House Zagreb, n.d. The Mediterranean: cultural identity and prospects for intercultural dialogue. Available at: < http://www.culturelink.org/conf/cultid02/> [Accessed 25 July 2013]. Gugan, D 2013, Europe And The Mediterranean: An Area Of Growing Interdependence. European Scientific Journal, 9 (5), pp. 338-354. Available at: Accessed [30 July 2013] Haddadi, S 1999, The Western Mediterranean as a Security Complex: A liasison between the European Union and the Middle East? Jean Monnet Working Papers in Comparative and International Politics. Available at: [Accessed 30 July 30, 2013] Halbreich, U 2013, The Eastern Mediterranean Region: A new perspective. The Jerusalem Post. Available at: [Accessed 30 July 2013] Richardson, J., 2009. Union for the Mediterranean: how realistic an exercise in foresight? Foresight: the Journal of Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy, 11 (2), pp. 3-6. Stocker, J., 2012. No EEZ solution: the politics of oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Middle East Journal, 66 (4), pp. 579-597. Tarek, A., 2009. Unity and diversity of Euro-Mediterranean identities. Available at: [Accessed 25 July 2013]. Read More