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The EU as a conflict manager? the case of Georgia and its implications

Whitman, Richard G., Wolff, S. (2010) The EU as a conflict manager? the case of Georgia and its implications. International Affairs, 86 (1). pp. 87-107. ISSN 0020-5850. (doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2010.00870.x) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:29925)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2010.00870.x

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the EU's engagement in Georgia as a standpoint from which to assess the EU's role as a conflict manager. The article begins with a brief narrative account of the development of EU - Georgia relations in the context of the country's two unresolved conflicts over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It then proceeds to the analysis of two sets of factors - those within, and those external to, the EU - that are crucial for understanding the nature and impact of EU efforts to manage the two Georgian conflicts. On the basis of this case-study analysis, the authors offer a wider analysis of the EU's potential for assuming a wider role as an international security actor. This is undertaken by considering both the limitations of the EU's existing capabilities for conflict resolution and the new developments contained within the Lisbon Treaty. The final part of the article asserts that the EU has suffered from two key weaknesses that have prevented it from living up to its aspirations of becoming a globally significant and effective conflict manager. The first is structural - the lack of, to date, a permanent External Action Service; the second is conceptual - the lack of a coherent and comprehensive conflict management strategy. The article concludes with five substantive principles that should guide the EU's approach to conflict management. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/The Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1468-2346.2010.00870.x
Subjects: J Political Science > JN Political institutions and public administration (Europe)
J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Richard Whitman
Date Deposited: 19 Jul 2012 13:54 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:07 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/29925 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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