The EU's Strategy of Conflict Mediation in the Contested Regions

Leri KHUPENIA

Master's thesis

A Case study of Secessionist Conflicts in Georgia

Addressing the EUs Capacity as a Conflict Mediator in Georgias Breakaway Regions

Abstract:

The contested regions are characterized by legal, territorial, and political complexity. The collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by the blood-shedding wars in the South Caucasus - Georgia was no exception. The secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia in the early 1990s created an unstable geopolitical environment in the shared neighborhood of the European Union and Russia. The conflicts were re-escalated in August 2008, when the armed troops of the Russian Federation entered the Tskhinvali region and engaged in full-scale military conflict with Georgia. In light of the five-day war, the European Union emerged as a leading international actor in the process of crisis management. The cease-fire agreement brokered by the French President Sarkozy was widely praised as a diplomatic success. Although, the post-war period showed that the Kremlin violated the agreement protocol by recognition of the independence of the separatist regions. The thesis explores the EU conflict mediation efforts in the contested regions of Georgia. It presents the historical account of the secessionist conflicts from the international perspective and emphasizes the role of Russia as one of the main regional actors. The empirical analysis is focusing on the various mechanisms of the EU, such as the EUSR, EUMM, and NREP which have been utilized for the purpose of conflict mediation. The research finds that there are several factors which limit the EU's conflict mediation capacity and constrain the achievement of tangible results: a) low-level of internalization of the EU's policy in Georgia and de-facto entities, b) divergence within the Union on external governance policies, c) The 'near abroad' policy of Russia and strong leverage on the contested regions. The research employs various theoretical tools that enable the assessment of the EU's conflict mediation efficiency in four stages: a) conflict mediation, b) conflict transformation, c) conflict management, d) conflict settlement. The thesis aims to contribute to the existing research in the area of EU-Georgian relations in the context. Furthermore, it intends in the context of regional politics.

Abstract:

The contested regions are characterized by legal, territorial, and political complexity. The collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by the blood-shedding wars in the South Caucasus - Georgia was no exception. The secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia in the early 1990s created an unstable geopolitical environment in the shared neighborhood of the European Union and Russia. The conflicts were re-escalated in August 2008, when the armed troops of the Russian Federation entered the Tskhinvali region and engaged in full-scale military conflict with Georgia. In light of the five-day war, the European Union emerged as a leading international actor in the process of crisis management. The cease-fire agreement brokered by the French President Sarkozy was widely praised as a diplomatic success. Although, the post-war period showed that the Kremlin violated the agreement protocol by recognition of the independence of the separatist regions. The thesis explores the EU conflict mediation efforts in the contested regions of Georgia. It presents the historical account of the secessionist conflicts from the international perspective and emphasizes the role of Russia as one of the main regional actors. The empirical analysis is focusing on the various mechanisms of the EU, such as the EUSR, EUMM, and NREP which have been utilized for the purpose of conflict mediation. The research finds that there are several factors which limit the EU's conflict mediation capacity and constrain the achievement of tangible results: a) low-level of internalization of the EU's policy in Georgia and de-facto entities, b) divergence within the Union on external governance policies, c) The 'near abroad' policy of Russia and strong leverage on the contested regions. The research employs various theoretical tools that enable the assessment of the EU's conflict mediation efficiency in four stages: a) conflict mediation, b) conflict transformation, c) conflict management, d) conflict settlement. The thesis aims to contribute to the existing research in the area of EU-Georgian relations in the context. Furthermore, it intends in the context of regional politics.

Keywords

European Union, Georgia, Russia, Contested Regions, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, NREP

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 17. 8. 2020

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Mgr. Markéta Žídková, Ph.D.

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
Humanities / Euroculture