Strategic Context of Civilian CSDP Civilian CSDP Missions

Mission with a Future?

Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) Reports, articles, briefs Public 2024

This article in German reviews the history of CSDP missions and operations and provides an outlook. It discusses the current context, both within the EU and externally, and reflects on recent developments in missions and operations.

The author begins by describing the different paths that civilian and military CSDP could take in the future. A focus on military operations could be envisaged as well as a comeback of crisis management missions requiring many resources and experts. The mandates of “symbolic missions” such as those in the Sahel could be adjusted or even closed down, and instead the Eastern Neighbourhood could increasingly become the focus of CSDP action. 

These possibilities are contextualised by comparing CSDP missions and operations with those of the UN and by looking at the history of EU crisis management missions, which began in 2003 with deployments to two countries - Chad and Kosovo - with more than 3000 personnel each. Developments in CSDP between then and 2024 are explained, highlighting the policy changes following the 2004 EU enlargement and the 2016 European Global Strategy. 

The article goes on to analyse the objectives and effectiveness of missions and operations in Africa, Eastern Europe and Palestine. The author questions the impact of the African deployments, while pointing to innovative approaches to the setup of civilian missions in the Eastern Neighbourhood, such as in Ukraine and Armenia, as good practices. He therefore looks forward to the forthcoming independent evaluations of civilian CSDP missions to get a comprehensive assessment of their effectiveness and sustainability. 

This article is of interest to anyone in the CSDP community who wants to better understand the context in which current debates and developments take place. In particular, newcomers to CSDP can benefit from this overview and analysis. 

 Reference: Pietz, T. (2024). Einsatz mit Zukunft. Internationale Politik.

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