The events collectively described as the “Arab Spring” are marked, at the local level, by the invention of novel modes of social and political action. On a transnational scale, these events are reshaping global alliances and raising pressing questions about the relationships between international political institutions and social movements driving change in North Africa and the Middle East. In the context of this rapidly evolving political landscape, this conference considers the implications of the Arab Spring for European politics and cultures. As a way of promoting a broad and interdisciplinary dialogue, the conference sets the Mediterranean, conceived of as an “in-between” space of multiple cultural flows, as its conceptual center.