Forskningsområder

FORSKNINGSOMRÅDER
• EU og Mellemøsten: Udviklingen i relationerne mellem EU og Mellemøsten med særlig henblik på det Euromediterane samarbejde og EU som aktør
• Fremme af demokrati i Mellemøsten i et postnormativt perspektiv
• Intergenerationel uddannelsesmobilitet og integrationsstrategier hos etniske minoriteter
• Europæiske rejsende i Mellemøsten: Rejseskildringen i kultur- og mentalitetshistorisk belysning

SENESTE FORSKNINGSUDGIVELSER:
Seeberg, Peter: Islam in the Nordic and Baltic Countries, Journal of Islamic Studies, 2011; vol. 22, nr. 1, s. 110-114.
Seeberg, Peter: Sydlibanon – mellem lokale, regionale og internationale interesser, Militært Tidsskrift, 2011, vol. 2011, nr. 3, s. 60-69.
Seeberg, Peter: European Neighbourhood Policy, Post-normativity, and Pragmatism. European Foreign Affairs Review, 2010; vol. 15, nr. 4, s. 663–679.
Seeberg, Peter. Union for the Mediterranean - pragmatic multilateralism and the depoliticization of European-Middle Eastern relations. Middle East Critique. 2010; vol. 19, nr. 3, s. 287-302.
Seeberg, Peter & Pace, Michelle (eds.). The European Union's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean. 1 udg. London : Routledge, 2010. 240 s.
Seeberg, Peter. The EU as a realist actor in normative clothes : EU democracy promotion in Lebanon and the European Neighbourhood Policy. Democratization. 2009 ; vol. 16, nr. 1, s. 81-99
Seeberg, Peter ; Cavatorta, Francesco ; Pace, Michelle. The EU's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean: a Critical Inside-Out Approach. / I: Democratization. 2009 ; vol. 16, nr. 1, s. 3-19
Seeberg, Peter. Irans revolution 1977-79 - interaktion og transformation. Kontur - Tidsskrift for Kulturstudier. 2009 ; vol. 18, nr. 1.
Seeberg, Peter. European Security and the 'Clash of Civilizations' : Differences in the Policies of France, Germany and the UK towards the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Clash or Cooperation of Civilizations: In Zank, Wolfgang: Overlapping Integration and Identities. 1. udg. London : Ashgate, 2009. s. 147-166
Seeberg, Peter & Valbjørn, Morten (eds.). Et andet nyt Mellemøsten. 1 udg. Odense : Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2008. 235 s. (University of Southern Denmark, Studies in History and Social Sciences).
Seeberg, Peter (ed.). EU and the Mediterranean : Foreign Policy and Security. Odense : Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2007. 207 s.

AKTUELT FORSKNINGSPROJEKT

RESEARCH PROJECT: EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST 1980-2013. AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EC/EU AND THE MIDDLE EAST FROM THE VENICE-DECLARATION TO THE ARAB REVOLTS WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN COOPERATION AND THE EC/EU AS FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY ACTOR.

It is the ambition of the project to analyze the development of the relations between the EC/EU and the Middle East with a focus on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. It is furthermore the idea through the analysis of the development of European-Middle Eastern relations to characterize the EU as foreign and security policy actor. The work applies a historic perspective looking at the development over time from the launching of the Venice Declaration in 1980 to the present, thereby examining how the political and institutional practices of the EU gradually have changed over time and how this has affected the relations between the EU and the Middle East from 1980 to the present.
The project discusses the development of European-Mediterranean relations, in the context of the official EC/EU policies and cooperation agreements from the Venice declaration, with the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as landmark agreements to the launching of the Lisbon Treaty as the latest building stone – this said even though Lisbon not only aims at dealing with the Middle East. The different agreements are seen as elements in a foreign and security regime on behalf of the EU. The idea of analyzing EU policies as a regime is inspired by Roland Dannreuther, who in an article in 2007, quoting Stephen D. Krasner, suggested that EU’s greater Middle East strategy could best be defined as one of regime building, where the purpose of the regime is to “define rules, norms, principles and procedures that focus expectations regarding international behavior”. In this project the point is taken further, discussing the organizational expressions of foreign policy ambitions on behalf of the EU as a step towards developing a specific EU “agency” that would add new dimensions to the discussions about the character of the EU as to its foreign and security policy.
The project takes its point of departure in earlier attempts at discussing the EU as a foreign policy actor, which over the last decades have resulted in a huge number of different perceptions – from François Duchêne and his understanding of European civilian power domesticating the European surroundings to for instance Federica Bicchi’s concept of ideational intergovernmentalism and her understanding that the EU still needs to offer a less Europe-centered contribution to Mediterranean politics. The project discusses the regionalist ambitions of the Barcelona Process, demonstrating that they never in reality were realized.
The project argues that recent EU policies can be termed pragmatic multilateralism, claiming a continuation of the pragmatic dimensions of the ENP and that the EU through the UfM pursues a policy which neglects former ambitions of promoting democracy and human rights. The character of the UfM with its focus on selected projects in itself underlines the pragmatism. It is demonstrated how a much publicized common ownership of the UfM has been ‘overruled’ by a Europeanization process and that this also emphasizes the continuity between the ENP and the UfM. Furthermore, pragmatic elements in EU foreign policy are pointed out by describing how the cooperation on the institutional development of the UfM and its prioritized projects takes place without touching on politically sensitive issues.
It is shown that rather than the ‘what should be’ attached to the normative policies of the regionalist Barcelona process, the policies of the EMP, the ENP and the UfM have become a ‘what could be’, i.e., a pragmatic recognition of certain limits to what the EU is capable of obtaining in the MENA region. The ENP did not lead to a more active or influential role for the EU in Mediterranean and this reality has not changed with the launching of the UfM. Taking this conflict-ridden Mediterranean region as point of departure it is the ambition to discuss possible future scenarios for the EU on the international political scene. Furthermore it is the ambition to analyze the relations between the EU and the MENA-region in the context of the Arab revolts in 2010-2012.

PUBLICATIONS, CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE PROJECT

BOOKS
Seeberg, Peter & Pace, Michelle (eds., 2010). The European Union's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean. 1 udg. London: Routledge
Seeberg, Peter (ed. 2007). EU and the Mediterranean: Foreign Policy and Security. Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark (Syddansk Universitetsforlag)

ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
Seeberg, Peter 2010. European Neighbourhood Policy, Post-normativity, and Pragmatism. European Foreign Affairs Review. Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 663–679.
Seeberg, Peter 2010. Union for the Mediterranean - pragmatic multilateralism and the depoliticization of European-Middle Eastern relations. Middle East Critique. Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 287-302.
Seeberg, Peter 2009. The EU as a realist actor in normative clothes: EU democracy promotion in Lebanon and the European Neighbourhood Policy. Democratization. Vol. 16, No. 1, s. 81-99
Seeberg, Peter; Cavatorta, Francesco; Pace, Michelle 2009. The EU's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean: a Critical Inside-Out Approach. / I: Democratization. Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 3-19
Seeberg, Peter 2009. European Security and the 'Clash of Civilizations': Differences in the Policies of France, Germany and the UK towards the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Clash or Cooperation of Civilizations: In Zank, Wolfgang: Overlapping Integration and Identities. London: Ashgate, pp. 147-166
Seeberg, Peter 2009. Mellemøsten: Israel, Jordan, Libanon, Palæstinensiske Selvstyreområder,
Syrien. In Rina Valeur Rasmussen (red.). EU og naboerne, Den Danske Europabevægelse,
København, pp. 32-43.
Seeberg, Peter 2008. Mellem venner. EUs naboskabspolitik, de autoritære mellemøstlige regimer og muligheder og begrænsninger for demokratifremme i Mellemøsten. In Peter Seeberg & Morten Valbjørn (red.). Et andet nyt Mellemøsten. Syddansk Universitetsforlag, Odense, pp. 53-88.
Seeberg, Peter 2007. EU and the Mediterranean: Foreign Policy and Security. In Peter Seeberg
(red.). EU and the Mediterranean. Foreign Policy and Security, Syddansk Universitetsforlag,
Odense, pp. 7-38.

CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
2011, conference: The First Year with the Arab Spring. New political and theoretical perspectives on relations between the Middle East and Europe after the Arab uprisings in 2011, Amman, 26-27 Nov.
2011, workshop: Migration, security and foreign policy in the Mediterranean, Amman, 17-18 Sept.
2011, workshop: Logics of Action in Euro-Mediterranean Relations, Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark
2011. workshop: Migration, security and foreign policy in the Mediterranean, Faculty for International Studies, University of Jordan, Amman
2010, conference: Co-arranged with Nawaf Tell, Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, Amman, Europe and the Middle East. The Union for the Mediterranean – reflecting European foreign relations through Middle Eastern prisms & International perspectives: the EU, the US and Iran.
2009, conference: Re-inventing the Mediterranean? The Middle East and Europe after Lisbon and Union for the Mediterranean, Center for Strategic Studies, Amman,
2007, workshop: Europe's legacy? From colonialism to democracy promotion. The case of the Mediterranean. Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark
2007, conference: Democracy promotion in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark
2006, conference: Meddling with the Mediterranean: EU, the Middle East and Turkey, Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
The Arab uprisings and the EUs migration policies the cases of Egypt, Libya and Syria, 13th
Mediterranean Research Meeting, Workshop 13. Changing Patterns of Cooperation and Securityin the Mediterranean Region, Montecatini, (22-24 March 2012)
The Arab Uprisings and the EU. EU migration policies towards the Mediterranean: learning to
cope with a Changing Neighbourhood, The First Year with the Arab Spring. New political and
theoretical perspectives on relations between the Middle East and Europe after the Arab uprisings in 2011 (26-27 November 2011)
Learning to cope. The development of common EU immigration policies towards the
Mediterranean caught between national and supra-national narratives, DAVO Conference, Berlin (5-8 Oktober 2011)
Migration in Syria and non-traditional security issues in the MENA-region. Transnational
integration, security and national interests, Workshop: New perspectives on migration, security and citizenship in a changing Middle East, University of Jordan (17-18 September 2011)
Learning to cope. The development of common EU immigration policies towards the
Mediterranean caught between national and supra-national narratives, Workshop: Logics of Action in Euro-Mediterranean Relations, II, Odense, Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies (25 June 2011)
Migration and security in the Mediterranean and the Arab region with a focus on securitization
dimensions related to Europe, Al Ahram & CAST (Center for Advanced Security Theory), (14 June 2011)
Thirty years after Venice. Pragmatism and depoliticization in European-Mediterranean relations: the case of Israel and the PA, The Wind of Democratic Change in the Mediterranean: Actors, Processes and possible Outcomes, University of Catania, Sicily (19-21 May 2011)
Mediterranean migration and EU inner security. Securitization of European migration and
integration policies caught between national and supra-national narratives and practices,
University of Jordan (6 March 2011)
Thirty years after Venice. Pragmatism and depoliticization in European-Mediterranean relations: the case of Israel and the PA, University of Southern Denmark (30 Januar 2011)
Carsten Niebuhr in the Ancien (Ottoman) Rgime. The scientific travel account and the Ottoman
reality in the 1760s (with Mogent Pelt, University of Copenhagen), University of Southern Denmark (17 December 2010)
Constructing a regime - Pragmatism and depoliticization in European-Mediterranean relations.
Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan (5 December 2010)
Migration in the Arab region and the Mediterranean with a focus on the security and foreign policy dimensions related to Europe, Al Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, Cairo (30 November 2010)
Union for the Mediterranean - pragmatic multilateralism and the depoliticization of EU-Middle
Eastern relations. World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES), Barcelona (19 July
2010)
EU's Neighbourhood policy and the Union for the Mediterranean: from postnormativity to
pragmatic multilateralism, PhD Seminar: "Europe in the World", Roskilde University (16 August
2010)
The EU's pragmatic bilateralism: the case of Jordan, The Middle East and Europe after Lisbon and Union for the Mediterranean, University of Southern Denmark (2 December 2009)
The EU as a realist actor in normative clothes: EU democracy promotion in Lebanon and the
European Neighbourhood Policy, Workshop on Special Issue of European Foreign Affairs Review, University of Birmingham (3 September 2009)
The EU and Jordan. Institutional(-ist) reflections on the European Neighbourhood policy and the Union for the Mediterranean, Jordan in a Changing Regional and International Environment, Conference at University of Jordan (22 June 2009)
Depoliticization of Middle Eastern-European cooperation and the legitimacy of the southern
Mediterranean regimes, Exploring the post' in post-democratization: Workshop at Center for
Middle East Studies, University of Southing Denmark (1 May 2009)
European Neighbourhood Policy, post-normativity and legitimacy. EU policies towards Jordan,
Lebanon and Syria, MESA, Washington DC (Nov 2008)
Democracy promotion and the EU Neighbourhood Policy. The EU-Lebanon Action Plan as a postdemocratic case, Center for Contemporary Middle east Studies 25 Years Anniversary Conference (26 September 2008)
Security and Migration in European Foreign Policy: The convergence concerning inner security in Europe, Workshop: Clash or Cooperation of Civilations? North Africa and the Middle East as
regions of overlapping integration efforts (23 August 2007)
Hezbollah, Lebanisation and the Shia Revival. The EU and the Struggle for Political Influence in
Lebanon and the Mashreq, The Seventh Nordic Conference on Middle Eastern Studies: The
Middle East: Diversity - Variation Interpretation (22 September 2007)

TEACHING
Mediterranean Perspectives, Graduate Programme in Middle East Studies, Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark

OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE PROJECT
Danish Jordanian University Cooperation (see www.DJUCO.org)

Arbejdsopgaver

Studieleder og studienævnsformand ved Center for Mellemøststudier

CV

Download CV (pdf)

Peter Seeberg er lektor, ph.d., studieleder ved Center for Mellemøststudier, Syddansk Universitet (SDU). Han har foruden SDU undervist ved Århus Universitet. Peter Seeberg har publiceret en lang række bøger og artikler samt redigeret 8 antologier, der fokuserer på det moderne Mellemøsten med særlig henblik på migration og sikkerhed, EU og Mellemøsten, nationalisme, politiske konflikter mv. – geografisk især vedr. Middelhavsregionen, herunder Tyrkiet. Hans seneste bøger er Seeberg, Peter & Pace, Michelle (eds.). The European Union's Democratization Agenda in the Mediterranean. 1 udg. London : Routledge, 2010. 240 s.; Seeberg, Peter (red., sammen med Morten Valbjørn: Et andet nyt Mellemøsten, Syddansk Universitetsforlag), Seeberg, Peter (red., 2007): EU and the Mediterranean. Foreign Policy and Security, University Press of Southern Denmark, Seeberg, Peter & Jakob Feldt (eds., 2006): New Media in the Middle East, Working Paper Series No. 7, Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark, Seeberg, Peter (2006): Det moderne Mellemøsten, Gyldendal og Seeberg, Peter (2005 red., Nation, stat og religion i det moderne Mellemøsten. Den Jyske Historiker, Nummer 110-111. Se i øvrigt hjemmesiden: http://www.sdu.dk/ansat/seeberg.aspx

Tilknytninger

• Institut for Historie, Kultur og Samfundsbeskrivelse - Lektor

Publikationer

Aktiviteter