Georgia

This report presents an overview of the European Union (EU) capabilities in peacebuilding and conflict prevention interventions in Georgia. It was prepared by the ‘Whole of Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding' (WOSCAP) team at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The report mostly deals with the period from 2008 until 2016.

In particular it focuses on three cases: the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), Geneva International Discussions, and the Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism (COBERM), a joint initiative by the EU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These cases were chosen for the study as they correspond with three categories of interventions taken on by the WOSCAP research project: multi-track diplomacy, governance reform, and security sector reform. The present study is based on desk research in combination with in-depth interviews. The WOSCAP team conducted a total of 28 interviews with representatives of relevant local and international actors.

The study answers the following question: how can EU civilian capabilities be enhanced in order to make the EU interventions in Georgia more inclusive and sustainable, especially by improving multi-stakeholder coherence. The study further reveals how multi-stakeholder coherence interlinks with issues of local ownership and how it can strengthen the peacebuilding process as a whole.

Ukraine

The European Union has been slow and reactive in responding to the crisis in Ukraine and the following conflict between the Kremlin and Kyiv but, nevertheless, provided some positive impact on the peacebuilding process.

This in-depth case study by the Institute of World Policy in Ukraine, member of the WOSCAP consortium, analyses three EU conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions in Ukraine: one diplomatic case (Normandy Format), two missions in the field of security sector reform -The European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) and The European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM)- and one in the field of governance reform (decentralization).

The study reflects how the EU's civilian capabilities in conflict prevention and peacebuilding can be enhanced and implemented in a more inclusive and sustainable manner.

Check out the full report here.

Yemen

This case study was produced by the Political Development Forum (PDF) in Yemen and presents research findings about the ongoing European Union (EU) intervention in the cluster of Multi-track diplomacy (MTD). This study is based on both desk review and field research, including interviews with local and foreign stakeholders. It contains a broad insight into Yemen's national context and the EU's policy, including EU-Yemen relations. Further it provides an overview of Yemen's Arab Spring and the EU's response to it. In this regard, it evaluates and assesses the EU's MTD efforts and concludes with lessons to learn and concrete improvement suggestions. The report largely ignores the EU's interventions in the cluster of Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Governance reform mainly due to the fact that the country is currently undergoing a massive military operation that has led many actors to flee Yemen. Another factor are the travel restrictions within the country and difficulties of communication. Nevertheless, this report offers a broad grass-roots perspective on the EU's contribution to Yemen's transition process and on how to improve.

See the full report here.

Mali

As one of the least developed Sahel countries, Mali is experiencing a critical period in its history. The Malian crisis can be seen as twofold: a security crisis in the North with the presence of armed groups and an institutional crisis followed by the coup d'état of 22 March 2012. The combination of the two interconnected crises laid bare the weakness of the Malian State and led to the occupation of 2/3 of Mali's territory by various armed groups in 2012 and early 2013. Like most of Mali's development partners, the European Union was initially taken aback by the eruption of the 2012 crisis, and expressed its deep concern. Before this, efforts were focussed on initiatives to counter the threat of terrorism and fight against trafficking (drugs, human beings, etc.). But the suddenness of the fall of democracy, the violence of the attacks and the multi-level consequences of the crisis led the members of the international community in general, and the EU in particular, to invest heavily in a return to peace.

This report analyses three spheres of contemporary EU intervention in Mali: multi-track diplomacy; two missions in the field of security sector reform (EUTM and EUCAP-Sahel-Mali), and several programmes in the field of governance reform (PARADDER, State Building Contract and PAOSC I and II). At all levels, the EU policies were reviewed against the background of Mali's peace process, in order to understand to what extent the EU is able to contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions in the case of Mali, and whether and how it uses sustainable, comprehensive and innovative civilian means to do so.

See the full report here.