Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The EU's security actorness: the case of EUMM in Georgia

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09662839.2013.808191

1746-1545

María Raquel Freire, Licínia Simão,

Political Conflict and Governance

AbstractThis article addresses conceptually the European Union (EU)'s security actorness, explaining its meaning, identifying the factors that are constitutive to the concept, and analyzing whether the EU is a security actor in Georgia, through its increased presence and engagement in the country and its eventual implications for the South Caucasus. The article argues that the complementary nature of the different EU tools deployed on the ground and their comprehensive nature have contributed to the EU's consolidation as a security actor in the South Caucasus. However, and despite the successful assessments of the European Union Monitoring Mission in the context of common security and defense policy development, the mission's deployment and its contribution to regional stability are influenced to a great extent by the role and involvement of external players, in particular in this case, that of Russia.Keywords: EUGeorgiaEUMMCSDPsecurity actorness AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank all EU and Georgian officials interviewed for this article, for their insights and availability to meet us and discuss issues pertaining to the EUMM. We would also like to thank Juliana Bertazzo and Stefano Guzzini as well as two anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous drafts of this article. The usual disclaimer applies.Notes on contributorsMaria Raquel Freire is researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and Tenured Professor in International Relations at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. Her research interests focus on foreign policy, security studies, peacekeeping and peacebuilding and the post-Soviet space.Licínia Simão, PhD, is a Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and Assistant Professor in International Relations at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. Her research interests include security studies and foreign policy analysis, especially European foreign policy and security dynamics in the post-Soviet space, with emphasis on the South Caucasus and Central Asia.Notes1. According to the External Action Service, the EU has deployed so far 27 CSDP operations, 18 being civilian, 8 military, and 1 civilian/military (operation Support to AMIS II Sudan/Darfur, 2005–06). More specific information available from: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/eeas/security-defence/eu-operations?lang = en [Accessed 9 March 2013].2. The EU BST was closed down on 28 February 2011.3. For a detailed account of the events in Georgia in 2008, see March (Citation2012) and Dunlop (Citation2012).4. The six-point ceasefire agreement reproduced at http://reliefweb.int/node/276556 (Accessed 23 March 2012).5. The ABL are the border lines separating Georgia's regions and in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia constitute Georgia's de facto international borders.6. Besides Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been recognized by Nauru, Venezuela, Tuvalu, and Nicaragua.