At a moment when geopolitical transformations are accelerating and the maps of global influence are being redrawn, Majed El Barhoumi’s book A Roadmap for Exploring the Depths of the Strait makes a bold intervention: it pulls Tunisia out of the margins of Mediterranean strategy and places it at the center of a much larger contest over geography, history, and power.
The book is not a conventional history. It is not a narrow political tract. Instead, it builds a comprehensive vision in which geography is not a passive backdrop but an active force — one that shapes states, societies, trade, conflict, and the long arc of history.
For El Barhoumi, Tunisia’s position on the shores of the Strait of Sicily is not a minor geographical detail. It is a founding element of the state, the society, and the region’s historical development. The strait, in his reading, is not simply a maritime passage. It is a crossroads between Africa and Europe, between East and West, and between ancient and modern trade routes. To understand Tunisia without understanding this maritime space, he argues, is to see only half the picture.
The Strait of Sicily: More Than a Line on the Map
What sets A Roadmap for Exploring the Depths of the Strait apart from other works on geopolitics is its refusal to remain trapped in the present. El Barhoumi digs into layers of history, reconstructing the picture from its roots.
He invokes Carthage not as a museum-piece civilization, but as an early example of a state that understood a fundamental truth: power is built not only on land, but also at sea. In this reading, Carthage becomes a symbol of a profound strategic understanding of the Mediterranean — a space where conflict and exchange have always coexisted.
That analytical thread runs across centuries. The book examines the Aghlabid era, the Ottoman-Spanish conflict, the period of Hammouda Pasha, and the French colonial period. Across these stages, one central idea emerges: control or influence over this geographical space has always depended on the ability to understand the movement of the sea and strategic maritime routes — not merely on military or economic power in isolation.
From Carthage to Colonial Rule: One Strategic Thread
This is where the book’s historical sweep becomes more than background. It becomes an argument.
For El Barhoumi, the Strait of Sicily has repeatedly functioned as a strategic corridor — a place where empires, merchants, navies, and ideas have collided and connected. Those who understood its value could project power. Those who treated it as a fixed geographical fact risked being bypassed by larger forces.
That lesson, the book suggests, is not confined to the ancient or early modern world. It remains urgent today.
Why the Strait Matters Now: Gas, Migration, Security
El Barhoumi argues that the contemporary world, despite technological development and globalization, is still governed by the logic of strategic corridors. Here, the Strait of Sicily takes on renewed importance — not only in trade, but also in energy, with vital gas flows connecting the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Its proximity to Europe adds another dimension: security, migration, and intercontinental connectivity. In an era of shifting alliances and renewed competition over resources and routes, the strait is no longer a peripheral passage. It is a pressure point, a bridge, and a potential chokehold.
This is why the book does not separate geography, politics, and economics. It treats them as an interconnected system. From this perspective, the strait is not merely a line on a map. It is a space where the interests of major powers intersect and where the contours of international balances are shaped.
Tunisia, therefore, should not be viewed as an isolated state. It is part of a complex network of relationships extending far beyond its narrow national borders.
The Uncomfortable Question for Tunisia’s Elites
At the heart of the book lies a fundamental question:
Does Tunisia truly recognize the value of its geographical position? Or does it still regard it as a fixed geographical fact rather than as a strategic asset that can be effectively utilized?
El Barhoumi does not present this as an accusation. He presents it as an open intellectual and political issue — one that requires a profound reconsideration of how elites and policymakers think about Tunisia’s place in the world.
It is a question that cuts across party lines, ideological camps, and generational divides. It asks whether Tunisia is content to be a bystander in Mediterranean geopolitics or whether it can convert geography into leverage.
A Roadmap Hidden in Plain Sight
Stylistically, the book combines analysis and reflection with historical narrative. It moves between past and present, between grand strategy and local detail, between the sweep of empires and the specific fate of a small North African state on the edge of a contested sea.
The result is not simply a book about Tunisia. It is a book about how geography can become destiny — or how it can be ignored at great cost.
As global influence is redrawn and the Mediterranean re-emerges as a zone of competition, cooperation, and crisis, El Barhoumi’s central insight is difficult to dismiss: the Strait of Sicily is one of the hidden keys of geography. And Tunisia, whether it recognizes it or not, is standing on one of the Mediterranean’s most strategic fault lines.
Key Takeaways
- Tunisia’s location on the Strait of Sicily is a strategic asset, not a geographical footnote.
- The strait connects Africa and Europe, East and West, ancient and modern trade routes.
- Carthage, the Aghlabids, the Ottomans, and the French colonial period all show the same lesson: sea power and maritime routes matter.
- Today, the Strait of Sicily is vital for trade, gas flows, security, migration, and intercontinental connectivity.
- El Barhoumi’s core question: Does Tunisia truly understand the value of its position — and is it ready to use it?
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