Envisioning the Sicilian-Maltese archipelago: a Braudelian inspired triple-level analysis of a European cross-border region

Abstract

This article seeks to advance the current debate on the 'archipelagic turn' described by island studies. It does so by answering the call for further analysis of island-to-island relations (Stratford et al., 2011) through applying existing historical methodology with the identification of island movements (Pugh, 2013) between archipelagic islands. Firstly, it proposes the application of an adapted method by combining Fernand Braudel's historical durations (Longue Durée) (1972) with an original attempt of island movements' classification; this is done to conceive a triple-level historical analysis (Long, Medium and Short Term) of islands belonging to archipelagos. Secondly, this article hints at the possibility for island territories inside the European Union to translate archipelagic visions into viable policies by means of European Territorial Cooperation strategies as provided by the European institutional framework. Such arguments are then supported by comparative analysis proving the existence of an archipelago between the islands of Sicily and Malta. In our case study, we both apply the triple-level methodology and suggest that the exploitation of European Cross-Border Cooperation instruments and strategies (such as the Euroregion) could be highly useful for the recovery of a Sicilian-Maltese Archipelago vision.

On borders and boundaries in Spain: A state of the art

“…Two young researchers have formed part of this team: Matteo Berzi, who has continued the line of research focused on La Cerdanya (e.g. Berzi and Durà, 2021), in comparison with the Alps, the subject of his doctoral thesis (Berzi, 2017);and, Camonita (2019) whose doctoral thesis examined the Sicily-Malta cross-border region. Colleagues from the disciplines of political science and sociology have actively participated in these collective works (Colomb et al, 2017;Camonita, Durà and Noferini, 2020).…”

A territorial scale-based model for Euroregions and its implications for Cross-Border Cooperation in maritime contexts

“…As hinted at the start of the article, the focus on cross-border maritime territories was mainly inspired by previous work on the subject (Camonita, 2019a(Camonita, , 2019b. However, such in-depth analysis suggested the identification of 'Eminently Maritime' territories with a stronger emphasis on the physical dimension of maritime borders than the one attempted in the Catalogue (Durà et al, 2018: 55-56).…”

“…The analysis includes an innovative classification of CBC activities according to a scale-based typology ('Local', 'Eminently Supralocal' and 'Regional') and a Euroregional model including three variants and six sub-typologies for Euroregional structures (from local 'bilateral Eurocities' to 'multiregional Euroregions'). Secondly, this paper represents the continuation of applied research on the maritime border context of the Sicily-Malta Cross-Border Region (Camonita, 2019a(Camonita, , 2019b. Such work paved the way for analysing the CBC processes of territories across a maritime border ('Eminently Maritime' cross-border regions).…”

Locating the interstitial island: Integration of Zhoushan Archipelago into the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration

“…In Europe in particular, many small islands became home to centres of government, while in Asia, South America and East Africa, numerous small islands and archipelagos transitioned from functioning as interfaces between two or more continental powers (on the adjacent continent and in distant Europe or Western Asia) to themselves serving as regional or national metropoles. This strand of urban island studies research has emerged in interaction with a 'relational turn' in island studies (Pugh, 2016), involving explicitly assemblageoriented approaches (Hayward, 2012;Pugh, 2013) and a more general interest in islandness as relationally constructed (Camonita, 2019;Lee et al, 2017;Roberts and Stephens, 2017;Stratford et al, 2011;Wang and Bennett, 2020).…”

“…This strand of urban island studies research has emerged in interaction with a ‘relational turn’ in island studies (Pugh, 2016), involving explicitly assemblage-oriented approaches (Hayward, 2012; Pugh, 2013) and a more general interest in islandness as relationally constructed (Camonita, 2019; Grydehøj et al, 2020; Lee et al, 2017; Roberts and Stephens, 2017; Stratford et al, 2011; Wang and Bennett, 2020).…”