The European Union Building Peace Near and Afar: Monitoring the Implementation of International Peace Agreements

Abstract

The European Union’s (EU) support and contribution to international peace and security continues to develop with involvement in the Balkans, South Caucasus, Africa, Middle East and South Asia (Council of the European Union 2005). Within the broad range of civilian and military interventions under the Common Security and Defence policy (CSDP) there have been two monitoring missions that have emerged from peace agreements, in Aceh (2005-2006) and in Georgia (2008 to date). This article maps the evolution EU’s role in international peace building by focusing on how this role is increasingly constructed by the scope of monitoring missions which it has embarked upon outside of its borders. A thematic analysis of literature is used to explore how the EU’s monitoring role has evolved regarding the different degrees of intervention, time-frame and size of the monitoring mission which have resulted in a multi-level impact regarding societal transition. The article finds that political will, shadows of past and future missions and intergovernmental concerns dominates how the EU’s monitoring missions unfurl, affecting the practice of monitors and other EU actors in local conflict settings and contemplates scenarios for future monitoring missions.