Introduction: The EU as International Mediator – Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives

In this introductory article, we conceptualise EU mediation practice and identify different conceptual and empirical perspectives from which EU mediation practice can be analysed. First, we briefly present different understandings of mediation in research and practice, and offer a definition and terminological/conceptual clarification of EU mediation practice that both covers EU mediation efforts and mediation support activities. Second, we present the institutional architecture for EU mediation activities. Third, we specify the focus of the special issue and derive a number of research questions that have not been sufficiently addressed in EU foreign policy studies and mediation research, yet. Based on these questions, we propose some tentative avenues for studying EU mediation along three key concepts: (1) drivers of EU mediation, (2) EU mediation roles and strategies, and (3) EU mediation effectiveness. Finally, we provide an overview of the contributions to this special issue.