Levante/Levant

The Levant is often mentioned as a region that is not clearly defined,located to the East of the Mediterranean, of which it seems to be considered an integral part. Although, due to its variety, it may be depicted more as a source of problems than opportunities, it is sometimes presented as a proving ground for the coexistence of diversities and cultural hybridization, having a capacity for dialogue that can still be found in the local memory. the attempts to simplify the regulatory frameworks in the new nation-states have created or exacerbated different kinds of rifts and conflicts. The quality of the changing neighborly relations can be considered, at the same time, both cause and effect of the tensions which characterized the relations among the countries of the area and between them and the rest of the world, and they necessarily reflect the irreducible variety of identities. The dialogue with the Mediterranean partners does not seem to have made significant progress in recent years, and the Levant seems to be looking for alternative solutions to its domestic and international problems, consolidating its affiliation to a non-Western-style institutional network. The yearning for identity, which prompts the Levant to join projects and to take directions and commitments with non-European partners, seems to manifest itself even in commercial interests, which suggests that there needs to be a verification of the convergence between the direction undertaken by the Levantine countries and that of the rest of the Basin.