Analysing the Effectiveness of UNOMIG Mediation between Georgia and Abkhazia

Contact Person: Marietta König, M.A.

This dissertation project deals with the United Nations’ mediation efforts in the conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia. The research focuses on the questions of whether and how UNOMIG’s interventions have had an impact on the process of resolving this violent conflict, and on the factors that have determined the effectiveness of these interventions. Special attention is paid to the complex interaction between the UN and the primary internal and external actors involved in the conflict.

The basic goals of the emprical-analytical study are a) a systematic coverage of UN activities; b) the analysis of the effectiveness of UN interventions, and c) the evaluation of factors that influence the relative success of UN activities.

The study’s key focus concerns the question of why the UN, despite eleven years of mediation efforts, has not been able to facilitate a solution for the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict.
The added value of the study lies in the examination of the potentials and limits of the UN in resolving regional conflicts, with the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict, which has not yet been dealt with in a systematic manner, as an example. Thereby, the project will contribute to studying the effectivness of civilian UN field operations. The project is expected to be concluded in 2009.

The dissertation project was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation between 2006 and 2008 and is now sponsored by IFSH.