Migration and Parliamentary Diplomacy in the Mediterranean: Between Security and Cooperation in International Parliamentary Organisations

Abstract

Migration in the Mediterranean constitutes a structural and multidimensional phenomenon, shaped by tensions between security and solidarity, exclusion and inclusion. This study examines the role of parliamentary diplomacy in how the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) politically frame human mobility. Through the analysis of resolutions, reports and recommendations, it explores how these international parliamentary organisations address border management, human trafficking, deaths at sea, youth, socio-economic inequalities and climate change. It argues that, despite their non-binding nature, PAM and PA-UfM operate as normative and symbolic arenas. The former demonstrates greater influence in times of crisis, while the latter privileges structural narratives. Together, they contribute to the construction of normative legitimacy and sustain the political debate on migration in the Mediterranean.