At Europe's Edge investigates why the EU prioritizes the fortification of its external borders; why migrants neverthelesscontinue to cross the Mediterranean and to die at sea; and how EU member states on the southern periphery respond to their new role as migration gatekeepers. The book addresses these questions by examining the relationship between the EU and Malta, a small state with an outsized role in migration politics as EU policies place it at the crosshairs of migration flows and controls.

This book examines the Europeanisation of party politics in Malta.  It evaluates the influence of Europeanisation on the political system, which is based on two party-system, polarisation, and clientelism. Malta is the smallest European Union (EU) member state, which joined the EU in 2004. The road toward membership was fraught with contentious and emotionally charged debates. This book explores the relationship between Maltese political parties and the EU, the politicisation and framing of the European Union by political parties, and the impact of the European Union on Malta's political system. The book further discusses more contentious recent events which made headlines at the EU level, including the Panama Papers scandals, the Individual Investment Programme, and the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science and international relations interested in a better understanding of electoral studies, Europeanisation, European integration, as well as the Maltese political system, and party politics.

The book presents a study on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness of public administrations focusing on the Maltese public administration as a case study. This was conducted following the launch of the Malta AI National Strategy in 2019. Since the Maltese public administration is the driving force behind the integration of AI solutions nationwide, the research is deemed necessary to understand whether the public workforce itself is ready to face the oncoming AI revolution. The researchers applied a mixed-methods approach to gain insight and a broader perspective of the status quo concerning AI adoption. Important considerations that stem from this study include the need for increased AI knowledge among public administrators since the majority of respondents reported a lack of awareness of AI technologies and their deployment. Understanding AI-related advantages must be accompanied by a robust instructional effort at all levels of education. It was unanimously agreed that the early inclusion of AI-related courses in the Maltese educational system will aid in developing a future AI-savvy workforce. Furthermore, upskilling and reskilling the public officers will facilitate knowledgeable human capital and proficiencies required to effectively integrate AI solutions within society.

The purpose of this volume is to present a snapshot of the state of the art of research on the languages of the Maltese islands, which include spoken Maltese, Maltese English and Maltese Sign Language. Malta is a tiny, but densely populated country, with over 422,000 inhabitants spread over only 316 square kilometers. It is a bilingual country, with Maltese and English enjoying the status of official languages. Maltese is a descendant of Arabic, but due to the history of the island, it has borrowed extensively from Sicilian, Italian and English. Furthermore, local dialects still coexist alongside the official standard language. The status of English as a second language dates back to British colonial rule, and just as in other former British colonies, a characteristic Maltese variety of English has developed. To these languages must be added Maltese Sign Language, which is the language of the Maltese Deaf community. This was recently recognised as Malta’s third official language by an act of Parliament in 2016.