Youth Expertise and Track-Two Diplomacy: Regionalism and the Mediterranean as Catalysts for Knowledge-Based Policy Innovation

This paper is the third in a series of studies exploring the intersection of youth expertise, diplomacy, and regionalism. The previous two papers, developed in collaboration with other organizations and presented through other distinct calls and conferences, laid the groundwork for understanding the transformative potential of youth-led initiatives in shaping policy. Building on these findings, this paper expands the scope to generate new insights into how the Politics of Expertise and Track-Two Diplomacy can be reoriented towards youth-centred approaches to enhance policy-making systems. While focused on the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation framework as a case study, the research engages with transnationalist and neo-functionalist theories of international relations, which emphasize the utility of regionalism as a lens for understanding cooperation and spill-over effects. I argue that these theories (Rosenau, 1977; Burton, 1972; Nye, 1999; Haas, 1958) highlight the potential of regional frameworks as an ideal context for exploring how youth-driven and knowledge based collaborations can foster effective policy innovations within specific geographical areas. Building on Turner’s (2013) and other scholars’ works on the Politics of Expertise, the paper examines how knowledge production and dissemination by youth-led organizations can challenge traditional hierarchies of expertise and influence decision-making processes. Drawing on Abdoueldahab’s (2022) insights into track-two diplomacy and scholar-practitioner collaboration, the study investigates how informal, non-governmental exchanges – particularly among youth – can bridge gaps in formal diplomacy, foster cultural understanding, and facilitate policy spill-overs from knowledge sectors to broader governance frameworks. Additionally, it incorporates findings from Simonet, Binder, Gruarin et al. (2023), where the authors brainstorm methods to elevate policy analysis to optimal levels to enhance diplomacy. The Euro-Mediterranean region serves as a practical example of how localized cooperation can yield insights into broader dynamics of knowledge politics and policies. The research evaluates whether these efforts are best driven by young practitioners and researchers themselves, guided by senior institutions, or achieved through enhanced cooperation among diverse non-state actors such as NGOs, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. It argues that fostering collaboration among these actors can create synergies that amplify the effectiveness of youth-centred initiatives. Moreover, the study posits that regionalism, as a microcosm of global cooperation, provides a more manageable and impactful context for studying how knowledge spill-overs influence policy-making. Furthermore, the research highlights the potential impacts on academia, advocacy, consulting, and policymaking within the EU and Euro-Med systems. Multi-level cooperation, underpinned by subsidiarity principles, can empower educational institutions, advocacy groups, and consulting organizations—particularly those led by or oriented towards youth—to more easily access decision-making processes. By enabling these actors to participate in policy development, the study emphasizes how youth-led initiatives can influence policy in a meaningful way. The subsidiarity principle ensures that decisions are made at the most appropriate level, allowing youth to have a direct impact on policies that affect their future, strengthening governance and legitimacy.