Mediterranean Sea: From Mare Nostrum to Mare Aliorum A geopolitical analysis focusing on the Turkish Straits

The presented literature-based thesis works on the topic of the Mediterranean Sea. This thesis aims to study the evolution of the Mediterranean Sea from the view of Mare Nostrum to what we observe nowadays as Mare Aliorum with particular attention to its historical and geopolitical changes. The aim of this work is to have a clear vision of what was the sea in the past analysing some of the aspects that have contributed to what represent now the Mediterranean Sea in the international scene and give a focus to the case study of the Turkish Straits and the important challenges of this region. Looking into the sources employed for this study, the selected materials are written in the 2000s to give a recent overlook of the matter and written in Italian, English and Spanish. Furthermore, in order to give a deeper context of the Mediterranean Sea and the Turkish Straits, the sources are online articles and paper essay available also in the Ca’ Foscari libraries. Moreover, important data from the main international organizations will be provided. In order to study the subject, the qualitative and quantitative methods are essential for this research. The results of this thesis suggest that the Mediterranean Sea has lost its centrality as common political, cultural and economic space and pivotal reference at international level like it has been for centuries in the past. From what the concept of Mare Nostrum has represented during the Roman Empire and the Fascism, the sea has become nowadays more fragmented creating space of contention. At the same time, the work shows that new extra regional actors are entering the space, in particular China, creating a new international balance in the area throughout important investments. Furthermore, the case study of the Turkish straits shows the foreign interference in the area and the current challenges of the Russia-Ukraine war that are influencing the sea but in particular this area.