Lessons Learned? The EU and the South Caucasus De Facto States

Author(s): Franziska Smolnik
Editor(s): Iris Kempe, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Lili Di Puppo, Hans Gutbrod
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 36
Pages: 2-6
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2012

The 2008 war and Russia's increased role in the de facto states1 of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since then has been a wake-up call for the EU. As part of its efforts aimed at conflict resolution and in order to end the entities' isolation, the EU has presented a 'Non-Recognition and Engagement' strategy that specifically targets Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The third South Caucasus de facto state, Nagorno-Karabakh, however, has been left unaddressed by the strategy. This article explores the EU's engagement and its challenges in the case of Abkhazia and takes a look at the possibility of extending the Non-Recognition and Engagement strategy to the de facto state of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Download:

English (PDF)