THE EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL ACTORS’ PEACE-BUILDING CAPACITY: The European Union and its twin track approach to peace-building in Macedonia
THE EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL ACTORS’ PEACE-BUILDING CAPACITY: The European Union and its twin track approach to peace-building in Macedonia

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines regional actors’ capacities for crisis management and peace-building operations, focusing specifically on the European Union (EU) and its role in Macedonia. It focuses on the EU’s approach to stabilizing the Balkans, and argues that its involvement in Macedonia is an evolved form of the overall EU policy in the Balkans because it consists of a twin track peace-building approach, where so-called hard power measures (such as peacekeeping troops), and soft power measures (such as regional integration and the process of EU enlargement) combine to provide an overall carrots-and-sticks approach to peace-building. The paper further compares this approach with that of the US post-World War II involvement in Western Europe, drawing parallels and lessons for regional actors engaging in future conflict prevention and peace-building initiatives.

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