Resilience-Building through EU Civilian CSDP Missions: A Comparative Study of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and the EU Mission in Armenia

Röber, Vanessa

4. semester

International Relations, MSc.

2025

Resilience has only recently become a key idea in global politics. In simple terms, it is the ability of countries and their public institutions to keep working during crises and to recover afterward, linking short‑term emergency response with long‑term development. The European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) includes civilian crisis management missions that support countries without using military force. Yet research has rarely examined how these missions affect resilience. This thesis compares two such missions—the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA)—to assess how effectively civilian CSDP missions foster institutional resilience and enable self‑governance in geopolitically contested settings. The two cases differ on almost everything except their shared goal: to stabilize their regions so that national authorities can eventually handle conflicts on their own. EULEX helps build rule‑of‑law institutions in Kosovo and seeks to ease tensions with Serbia that have fueled ethnic disputes and serious border‑area clashes. EUMA was created to report border incidents to the EU amid sharp tensions and territorial disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Methodologically, the study uses a “most different systems” design—comparing cases that vary widely—to identify common mechanisms. It relies on qualitative document analysis of anonymous expert interviews, EU laws and policy papers, academic literature, and news reports. The analysis is guided by a combined theoretical framework: Liberal Institutionalism and Securitisation theory. Together, they emphasize the role of states and international institutions, and how issues can move from being framed as security threats (securitisation) to normal politics (desecuritisation) and towards resilience. The findings indicate that EU civilian missions generally help strengthen institutional resilience, but their effectiveness depends on several conditions: the country’s internal post‑conflict stability, support from international partners, and the ability to engage in diplomatic dialogue with hostile neighbours. In Kosovo, EULEX should place even greater emphasis on resilience and confidence‑building—for example, by reinforcing oversight of police abuses and re‑establishing border crossing points. In Armenia, EUMA contributes to securing the border region; the analysis notes that Armenia has made major concessions towards Azerbaijan, which may open a path to peace and allow the mission to withdraw. Overall, the study concludes that civilian EU missions are most effective when they have realistic, temporary mandates tailored to the country’s needs and aimed at stabilising and reinforcing national governance in times of crisis.

Resiliens er først for nylig blevet et centralt begreb i global politik. I enkel forstand er det landes og offentlige institutioners evne til at fungere under kriser og komme sig bagefter, så kortsigtet beredskab kan kobles til langsigtet udvikling. EU’s Fælles Sikkerheds- og Forsvarspolitik (FSFP/CSDP) omfatter civile krisestyringsmissioner, der støtter lande uden militær magt. Alligevel er det sjældent undersøgt, hvordan disse missioner påvirker resiliens. Dette speciale sammenligner to sådanne missioner—EU’s retsstatsmission i Kosovo (EULEX) og EU-missionen i Armenien (EUMA)—for at vurdere, hvor effektivt civile FSFP-missioner styrker institutionel resiliens og muliggør selvstyring i geopolitisk omstridte sammenhænge. Sagerne adskiller sig på næsten alle punkter, bortset fra deres fælles mål: at stabilisere deres regioner, så nationale myndigheder på sigt kan håndtere konflikter selv. EULEX hjælper med at opbygge retsstatsinstitutioner i Kosovo og søger at dæmpe spændingerne med Serbien, som har drevet etniske stridigheder og alvorlige sammenstød i grænseområderne. EUMA blev oprettet for at rapportere grænsehændelser til EU under skærpede spændinger og territoriale stridigheder mellem Armenien og Aserbajdsjan. Metodisk anvendes et “mest forskellige systemer”-design, hvor meget forskellige cases sammenlignes for at identificere fælles mekanismer. Analysen bygger på kvalitativ dokumentanalyse af anonyme ekspertinterviews, EU-love og -politiske papirer, forskningslitteratur og avisartikler. Den teoretiske ramme kombinerer liberal institutionalistisk teori og sekuritiseringsteori. Samlet fremhæver de staters og internationale institutioners rolle samt, hvordan emner kan bevæge sig fra at blive behandlet som sikkerhedstrusler (sekuritisering) til normal politik (desekuritisering) og videre mod resiliens. Resultaterne peger på, at EU’s civile missioner generelt kan styrke institutionel resiliens, men effektiviteten afhænger af flere forhold: intern stabilitet efter konflikt, støtte fra internationale partnere og evnen til diplomatisk dialog med fjendtlige naboer. I Kosovo bør EULEX lægge endnu større vægt på resiliens og tillidsskabende tiltag—fx styrket kontrol med politiovergreb og genetablering af grænseovergange. I Armenien bidrager EUMA til at sikre grænseområdet; analysen noterer, at Armenien har givet store indrømmelser til Aserbajdsjan, hvilket kan bane vej for fred og muliggøre missionens tilbagetrækning. Overordnet konkluderer specialet, at EU’s civile missioner er mest effektive, når de har realistiske, midlertidige mandater, der er tilpasset landets behov og sigter mod at stabilisere og styrke national styring i krisetider.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

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