Mapping Perspectives on the EU as Mediator

Research on the European Union’s role as a meditator is nascent. It predominantly focuses on case studies

or is cursorily embedded within wider research on the European Union (EU) as a crisis manager.

Moreover, there is a significant disconnect between the established studies on mediation based in Conflict

Analysis Studies and the EU’s foreign and security policy situated in Security Studies. Thus, there is a

dearth of systematic engagement on the issue of EU mediation, although the EU often uses the language

of mediation as a key component of its external commitments to conflict prevention, transformation and

resolution. While advancements in mediation research suggest that there are certain determinants of

mediation, and highlight key features that support and impede actors during conflict, this has not been

systematically applied to the EU. Consequently, a key task of this workshop was to establish conceptual

clarity and practical information about on the EU’s mediation roles.

As a starting point, this workshop took stock of EU mediation knowledge from the perspective of different

actors including academics, civil society and policy practitioners. In particular, it explored the limited

academic engagement with this particular aspect of EU foreign and security policy. Additionally, the

workshop critically interrogated how the EU understood its role in international mediation practice by

exploring its capabilities and infrastructure and thereby locating opportunities and constraints to it

performance. By bringing together various perspectives these discussions generated critical insights into

where the remaining gaps in knowledge lay and the possibilities of academic partnerships with

practitioners and policymakers to create new knowledge for Security and Conflict Analysis Studies.