The Cases of Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Tajikistan

Contact Persons: Dr Wolfgang Zellner

During the past decade, over 20 multi-functional UN peacekeeping missions and OSCE missions have been deployed. They are among the most important instruments currently available to international actors for crisis prevention and conflict management. However, there is a gross discrepancy between the political importance of these missions and the volume of academic research on this innovative instrument. These missions have been planned and implemented in a very tight timeframe, in a climate of political crisis, and with the obligation to react exclusively with civilian measures.

In the existing literature on civilian UN and OSCE missions studies based on systematic empirical research have rather been the exception rather than the rule. This project was an attempt to close the current gap in the research. The following questions were crucial for the study: What are the organizational characteristics of these missions and their parent organizations? To what extent do these traits explain the different performance records of civilian UN and OSCE missions deployed in the same country for crisis prevention, conflict management and peace-building? Do the comparative advantages and disadvantages of UN and OSCE missions have a particular effect on certain activities in specific conflict situations and phases?

The project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, commenced in January 2002. CORE staff members and local researchers in host countries were responsible for implementation. In 2003 and 2004, CORE staff members travelled to the target countries and to UN and OSCE headquarters and conducted interviews with representatives from both organizations. Publications were finalized in 2005.

Far beyond its initial range of research, this project has further stimulated thinking on international organizations’ field operations both on a scholarly and a consultancy level. This ranges from methodological deliberations on measuring the effectiveness of international organizations’ democratization strategies, which wereas appliedaccepted into one of the PhD studies done at CORE, to developing new forms of field operations as a contribution to the current debate on OSCE reform. Some parts of these efforts have been organized into separately funded projects.

This project, which was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, started in January 2002. CORE staff members and local researchers in host countries were responsible for the implementation. In 2003 and 2004, CORE staff members travelled to the target countries and to UN and OSCE headquarters and conducted interviews with representatives from both organizations. Publications were finalized in 2005.