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ArgumentDuring the 1970s, Euro-Mediterranean relations were determined by US and &#8220;Atlantic&#8221; preponderance, member states&#8217; domestic commercial and financial priorities, EPC/EEC rivalry and separation. At the same time, many Mediterranean countries were more committed to Third World politics than cooperation with the former colonial powers. The tortuous establishment of the Global Mediterranean Policy (1972-1977) and the uneventful stranding of the Euro-Arab Dialogue (1974-1979) showed how limited was the scope for Euro-Mediterranean relations.Only the emergence of democratic regimes in Greece, Portugal and Spain produced a real discontinuity. The lengthy process of enlargement, by which most of the northern shore of the Mediterranean became part and parcel of the Community, confirmed however the Nine&#8217;s difficulty to fulfill the role of development promoter in time of crisis, challenges in maintaining political momentum while increasing the size of the Community, the fragility of the consensus around a EEC political role. Enlargement was the only path to broaden the EEC geographical scope, but it showed a dark side as it downgraded non-member countries and sacrificed their interests. The &#8220;Mediterranean enlargement&#8221; was less than welcome on the eastern and southern shores of the basin.After the phasing out of the Cold War, changes appeared that eventually led to the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership at the Barcelona Conference of November 1995. Alternatively defined as the most ambitious EU foreign policy initiative and the poor relative of the bold Ostpolitik bound to stabilize through enlargement East-Central Europe, the Barcelona Process apparently filled an existing model, the CSCE three basket scheme, with the lessons learnt from the transition in Eastern Europe, to build up European economic projection and promote regional security.The Conference will investigate how the 1980-1995 period, often considered a sort of lost time in Euro-Mediterranean relations, prepared this move. In particular, it will focus on major political, socio-economic and human-cultural trends in the Mediterranean region, the main aim being to properly contextualize the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, to overcome the separation between political-strategic, economic and human-cultural dimensions of regional dynamics and to evaluate the impact that migration flows and policies made on the complex of bilateral and multilateral relations in the Euro-Mediterranean region.Themes to be discussed include:Military conflicts and political tensions;Terrorism;Nuclear proliferation;Development in regional integration in Europe and the Maghreb;Continuities and discontinuities in notions of Third World, Non-Alignment, North-South dialogue.The Marrakesh agreement and the birth of the WTO.Trade and investment flows in the Mediterranean region;Development policies in the Mediterranean region;Transport and telecommunication networks;Collaborations and confrontations in industrial, agricultural and fishing sectors;Energy;Migrations and their implications for economic, political and cultural relations in the Mediterranean region;Media;Cultural and educational relations;Cultural and religious tensions, with an emphasis on anti-Americanism, anti-Western feelings, and anti-Islamism.Submission guidelinesThe conference is organized by the Department of Political and Juridical Sciences and International Studies of the University of Padua. Interested contributors are requested to send a proposal, including title, abstract (up to no more than 500 words), and a brief curriculum vitae (with author(s)&#8217; last and first name(s), position and affiliation, research experiences and publications, postal address, telephone number and email address)before May 15, 2013to Prof. Antonio Varsori (antonio.varsori@unipd.it), Prof. Elena Calandri (elena.calandri@unipd.it) and Dr .Simone Paoli (simone.paoli@unipd.it).Selected applicants will be informed by June 10.Written papers must be sent by October 20, 2013. The working languages of the Conference are English and French.Accommodation and travel expenses will be covered by the organisers of the Conference.Selected papers will be published either in an edited volume or in an international academic journal.Scientific committeeProf. Antonio Varsori (antonio.varsori@unipd.it), Prof. Elena Calandri (elena.calandri@unipd.it),Dr .Simone Paoli (simone.paoli@unipd.it).