The OSCE and the post-soviet space: 30 years of conflict prevention and resolution. A critical assessment

Abstract

Thirty years after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the post-soviet space presents a complex scenario. The state building processes are facing important challenges in different scopes: economical, social, institutional, interethnic coexistence, territorial conflicts, secessionisms, transition and democratic consolidation, and also in terms of the insertion in the international community. A significant number of conflicts are developing in this broad area what is the neighborhood between European Union (UE) and Russia. Due to the geoestrategic and geopolitic importance it is considered by Russia as an essential objective in its foreign policy. The European Security and Cooperation Organization (CSCE) and since 1995 as OSCE has participated being the main international organization in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Nevertheless a detailed analysis shows shadows around the achievement of the objectives set out in their mandates. This study aims to carry out a critical balance of three co-led processes by the OSCE: two related to conflicts started before the dissolution of the Soviet Union (Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh) and the other since 2008, after the russian intervention in Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia).