The EU as an International Actor in Regional Conflicts: A Comparison of Kosovo and Ukraine
Abstract
This study aims to provide a historical overview of the capabilities of the European Union (EU) as an international actor in regional conflict resolution in the post-Cold War era, with a focus on autonomy and consistency. Through two case studies from Europe – Kosovo conflict and Ukraine war, the study follows the historical development of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) competence and measures, as well as other instruments of external action. The findings reveal that in the Kosovo case, CFSP remained weak and the EU was slow to react, creating a ‘capability-expectation gap’. The EU has followed and took on a supplementary role within the international community, rather than initiate peacekeeping and peacebuilding in Kosovo. The EU responded to Ukraine war much faster, with an improved and diversified set of measures, such as humanitarian assistance, providing food and energy security, comprehensive sanctions towards Russia. As regards tools that are outside the field of CFSP, it was found out that the EU has consistently used enlargement and association relationship as conflict resolution methods in both cases. However, their effectiveness has increasingly become more questionable.
Keywords
EU , CFSP , Regional Conflict , Kosovo , Ukraine
Kaynakça
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