Abstract The collection, introduced in this first contribution, sets out to analyse the development of politics in the Mediterranean against the background of a paradigmatically changing international environment. It embarks on the hypothesis that September 11 has resulted in a worrying tendency to securitize international terrorism. The concept of securitization legitimizes the fight against a vital threat by recourse to all possible means, including the breaking of existing rules. This is perceived as worrying because it undermines pivotal factors for security-building, such as the rule of international law, respect for human rights and democracy. Empirical research verifies that since September 11, what were already weak processes of democratization in the Mediterranean have been damaged by the irresponsible depreciation of binding rules. However, since Mediterranean politics have always been determined by the interrelations of international, regional and domestic dynamics, these have to be taken into ...