Strategic Context of Civilian CSDP Civilian CSDP Missions

Conflict prevention under pressure - How effective are the most common interventions, and are they fit for future conflicts?

EUMM Georgia Reports, articles, briefs Public 2025 Chatham House

This analysis of three national case studies, including Georgia, examines six common methods of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. In the section examining border management, it evaluates the activities of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia.

The overall report examines conflicts in Georgia, India-Pakistan, and Kenya and evaluates the following established methods of conflict prevention in each case: mediation, border management, resource management, multistakeholder processes, governance and institutional reforms, and information and communication technologies. The section on border management discussing Georgia examines EUMM’s border monitoring and dialogue facilitation and provides concrete feedback on the implementation and scope of the mission’s mandate.

It notes positive effects from tools such as EUMM's border hotline, which the mission reports is used daily, helping avoid unintended escalations and enabling safe civilian crossing between government-controlled Georgia and the breakaway regions. It commends EUMM's role in co-chairing and providing data for the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism for mediation, which has created a lasting ceasefire. However, it laments that it has merely led to a relatively peaceful status quo rather than a permanent resolution to the conflict. Finally, it highlights the problem that while EUMM has a mandate for all of Georgia , it is prevented from entering the breakaway regions due to Russian opposition.

Reference: Cournoyer, J., Badri, L. & Messmer, M. (2025). Conflict prevention under pressure - How effective are the most common interventions, and are they fit for future conflicts? Chatham House.

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