"Theory and the process: Political science interpretations of the Barcelona process"

The paper analyzes some interpretations of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, also know as the Barcelona Process, and the role of the European Union in the Mediterranean. The study of the Process has been increasing since the Barcelona Declaration was approved in 1995. But little attention has been given to theory and how to interpret the EU's rule in the Mediterranean in the frame of international political studies. The paper discusses two main views on the Barcelona Process - the hegemonic and liberal views- and invites for further theory debate on the construction of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation process