Poetics of Infrastructure: (Re)Imagining The “Modern” Mediterranean

Abstract

The aim of this article is to inquire into global imaginings of the possibilities for the future of the Mediterranean region, i.e. its current and future reconceptualization through political economy of connectivity through the Maritime Silk Road (MRS) as part of the OBOR.1 OBOR promises to mediate exchange over distance and bring different people and objects into interaction through its infrastructure. The question is whether OBOR will replace the present politics of domination by the diplomacy of communication, interaction, negotiation, and conversation, where dialogue of civilizations is based on tolerance, recognition, respect, mutual reference, and mutual learning. The article argues that the reconceptualization of the Mediterranean from its current, stereotyped image of the ancient past towards a modern paradigm largely depends on contrasted geopolitical dynanmics of this region.