Bilateralism and multilateralism: Obstacles to sub-regionalism in the Maghreb

The challenges of regionalism to multilateralism have increased. However, the processes of regionalization in areas such as the Maghreb remain unfinished business. Political disputes, socioeconomic development, military conflicts, as well as internal and external economic interests have rendered stagnant the co-operation necessary for regionalization to proceed. The Maghreb is understood as comprising the five states of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tu-nisia, as well as the occupied Western Sahara. Institutions and actors operate at the local, national, regional, and international levels within the social, eco-nomic and political fields. Factors that prevent the development of sub-region-alization in North Africa – for example, those that work against organizations such as the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) – are approached from the theoretical framework of comparative regionalism and wider global international rela-tions. This allows more flexibility regarding the use of methodological tools from the critical non-Eurocentric aspects in order to contextualize the South Mediterranean region in a multiplex world order. A multiplex world order is one in which the world is organized around multiple and complex processes, where multipolar order is only one aspect in the processes of power distribu-tion. A multiplex world order does not necessarily sustain deterministic as-sumption of an inherent conflict highlighting the importance of individual agencies in the wider networks of actors, whether national, non-governmental, or transnational. Multiple multilateral processes (e.g., African Union, Arab League, Union of the Mediterranean) are taking place in Maghreb, having an impact on regionalism in the area. Simultaneously, national socioeconomic policies and interstate disputes continue to play a major role alongside wider societal phenomena such as mobility, security, and culture. Therefore, this chapter asks: (1) what role does culture play in the processes of regionalization and multilateralism? and (2) does failed regionalism in North Africa promote more efficient multilateralism?