From the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to DG MENA: examining three decades of Euro-Mediterranean relations through the lenses of policy learning

Abstract This Special Issue examines the thirty-year trajectory of Euro-Mediterranean relations, through the lenses of policy learning. By analyzing what is learned, how learning occurs, and what outcomes emerge from the learning process, this Special Issue highlights how and to what extent EU policymakers acquire knowledge and interact with different actors. To further unpack these dynamics, the Special Issue introduces a typology, based on the strength of collaboration between actors and the degree of power-sharing in decision-making, that deconstructs the governance of the Euro-Mediterranean relations, offering a more nuanced assessment of its successes, failures, and evolving objectives. Moving beyond descriptive historiographic narratives, the contributions of this Special Issue transcend existing dichotomies that are found in the related literature and see the EU either as an actor, who learns from past mistakes or as an entity locked in asymmetric relationship with its Mediterranean partners, prioritizing its security concerns over meaningful policy evolution.