Multilateralism, Confl ict Prevention, and the Eastern Partnership

Abstract

Although the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) contains a conflict prevention dimension, the Russia-Georgia war demonstrated the extent to which this dimension was underdeveloped, at best, and completely ineffective, at worst. Through conceptualizing multilateralism, this article critically assesses the potential contribution that the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative can make to the European Union (EU)'s impact on creating a climate that is conducive to cooperation and long-term stability. It is argued that the multilateral approach within the EaP certainly offers 'new' potential for long-term prevention. However, it also asserts that to be effective it must address some fundamental weaknesses within its multilateral and bilateral governance processes.