Titolo completo

North Africa’s Security Landscape and Its Mediterranean Impact

European policy discourse often portrays North Africa as a source of instability, overlooking the reciprocal dynamics through which European actions contribute to insecurity across the southern Mediterranean. Irregular migration, transnational crime, jihadist networks and regional rivalries are not isolated phenomena but interlinked elements of a broader destabilising environment shaped by non-state actors, fragile governance and external intervention. The securitisation of migration has distorted policy responses, strengthened smuggling networks and conferred legitimacy on armed actors who exploit mobility control for profit and leverage. At the same time, proxy conflicts, authoritarian consolidation and socio-economic decline have deepened popular disaffection, fuelling further instability and migration pressures. External powers, notably Russia, the UAE and Turkey, have instrumentalised these vulnerabilities to pursue geopolitical agendas, eroding state sovereignty and regional autonomy. The resulting insecurity spans North Africa, the Sahel and Europe, turning the region into a shared threat and a missed opportunity. A shift towards development-centred, cooperative and multilateral engagement is essential to transform destructive interdependence into mutual benefit.

Paper produced in the framework of the “Strategy Group on New (Dis)Orders in the Mediterranean”, a project jointly led by IAI and the School of Advanced International Studies.