EU Civilian CSDP Missions and the Consolidation of the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans

Abstract

This chapter aims at presenting the functioning of the civilian crisis management missions deployed to date by the European Union (EU) in the Western Balkans in the context of its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the latter representing one of its fast-develo** policy areas. The particular focus of this chapter will be on elucidating the impact of the civilian CSDP missions on the consolidation of the rule of law in the Western Balkans.

Despite the difficulties encountered by the EU in emerging as a fully-fledged global foreign and security actor, the problem-solving culture developed by Brussels-based CFSP and CSDP bodies has facilitated the formulation and implementation of an active EU foreign policy towards the Western Balkans. The civilian CSDP missions have been deployed in the context of EU’s structural foreign policy by also complying with its self-image as a ‘civilian’ and ‘normative’ power.

The main argument of this chapter will be that while the EU civilian CSDP missions have greatly contributed to the preservation of security and stability in the Western Balkans, their role in the Europeanisation of the national political systems has been rather limited. The experience of civilian CSDP missions in the Western Balkans demonstrates that effective rule of law cannot be established by an international mission, but only by local institutions under strict EU conditionality in the framework of their accession process.