Policy Reports
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Implications for the OSCE
Since its inception in late 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has grown into a vast global development project with increasing geopolitical and geo-economic implications. By 2020, Belt and Road co-operation involved more than half of the OSCE’s 57 participating... read morePluralism and Conflict Prevention
A pluralistic approach to conflict prevention requires practitioners to identify the divisions and exclusions in a society that can lead to violence long before conflict is imminent. Paying careful attention to these early warnings of conflict, and addressing them before they are exacerbated, can pave the way for institutional and cultural environments that foster inclusion and thus, more sustainable peace.
read moreAn Assessment of Global Values-based Benchmarks and Indicators
Building on the results of previous research for the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) that included a scan of audit and assessment tools, my colleague Argyro Kartsonaki and I, in this paper, provide an overview of four existing values-based audit tools and outline... read moreAudit Tool Survey
Audit tools have significantly grown in popularity over the past decade as part of a global drive to measure the performance of various institutions against a set of indicators and to score performance in a range of indices. In this paper for the Global Centre for... read moreNational and International Instruments of Minority Protection in Europe
National and international instruments of minority protection in Europe form a multi-layered framework that establishes minority protection not as a choice but as both a legal obligation and a pragmatic necessity. In this paper, commissioned by the Institute for... read moreEarly Warning through a Pluralism Lens: Assessing Scenario Planning
In this paper for the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) I assess whether scenario planning can serve as an approach through which the GCP can establish itself as a credible and effective player in the early warning field by applying its pluralism lens as the focus of... read moreThe threat posed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
In a joint submission to the UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, my colleagues Paul Schulte, Chris Wyatt and I address counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation policy, including the ideological threat; the role of air power; and the need to consider ongoing operations and policy in the Strategic Defence and Security Review and the associated National Security Strategy.
read moreA Proposal for the Syria Crisis – Safe Havens and “Internal Containment”
Analysing different options for international crisis management, we suggest a re-direction and focus of strategic thinking towards internal containment. If combined with elements of an external containment strategy, it could deliver a credible new approach to de-escalation and eventual resolution of the Syrian crisis.
read moreYemen Constitutional Drafting: Executive Formation (2)
This memorandum provides an overview of options for the formation of the executive branch of the government in presidential systems of government.
read moreYemen Constitutional Drafting: Executive Formation (1)
This memorandum provides an overview of options for the formation of the executive branch of the government, taking account of provisions in three relevant outcome documents of the National Dialogue Conference.
read moreYemen Constitutional Drafting: Special Measures
This memorandum provides an overview of mechanisms that may be considered in the context of implementing specific aspects of the Agreement on a Just Solution to the Southern Question.
read moreThe Transnistrian Issue
Analysing the current context of the Transnistrian conflict and drawing on an analysis of existing proposals for conflict settlement, this study offers a number of suggestions how a sustainable settlement could be achieved.
read moreGuarantee Options for a Settlement of the Conflict over Transnistria
Any meaningful consideration of guarantee options requires some assumptions about the nature of the underlying settlement. With this in mind, the following discussion draws on comparative experience in two ways. First, it considers the nature of the conflict over... read moreHow to deal with Yemen
Once again, Yemen has hit the international news headlines, consolidating a widespread public perception that this highly fragile state on the south-western tip of the Arabian peninsula has evolved into a new hotbed for international terrorism, another Afghanistan of... read moreOfficial Documents and Proposals
This is a selection of conflict settlement proposals put forward by various parties since 1993. While there is relatively broad consensus on the basic parameters of a solution, the documents need to be seen in their specific context in time and place in order to... read moreReports on Transnistria
Below are links to reports and recommendations for various aspects of the conflict over Transnistria that emerged from my work since 2009, principally with the OSCE Mission to Moldova and with the British Embassy in Chisinau. Guarantees and Conflict Settlement... read moreReports on Gagauzia
Below are links to a wide range of reports and recommendations for various aspects of the situation in Gagauzia that emerged from my work since 2003. Between 2004 and 2009 I regularly visited Komrat as part of a project run by the European Centre for Minority Issues... read moreFederalism vs Regionalism in Moldova
This report, prepared for a meeting with the Moldovan Ministry of Reintegration, discusses various models of territorial self-governance, focussing on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of federalism and regionalism in the context of the conflict over... read moreConflict Resolution in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood
This paper was commissioned by the Europen Policy Centre and co-authored with Amanda Akcakoca, Thomas Vanhauwaert, and Richard G. Whitman. Subsequently published as EPC Issue Paper No. 57, it analyses the impact of the war between Russia and Georgia on the EU’s... read moreEthnic Minorities in Europe
This report, prepared for the European Centre for Minority Issues, in Flensburg, Germany, provides an overview of ethnic minorities in Europe, including details on the size of different minority groups, their origins, and the nature of claims and disputes they are... read moreThe European Union and the Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh Territory
This report, prepared for the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, examines the role of the European Union in the conflict settlement process and... read moreOvercoming Political Deadlock in Gagauzia
This report, prepared for the EU Special Representative for Moldova, offers some observations on how the political deadlock in Gagauzia following elections to the entity’s assembly could be overcome.... read moreMinority Rights in the Western Balkans
This report, commissioned by the Subcommittee on Human Rights of Foreign Affairs Committee of the the European Parliament, was co-authored with Pieter van Houten, Ana-Maria Anghelea, and Ivana Djuric. It provides a detailed overview of the situation regarding... read moreStructure and Agency in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Settlement Process
This paper (in German) was prepared for a meeting with representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory at the European Academy in Berlin. It analyses the dynamic relationship between and among the main structures and actors in the conflict and the various attempts... read moreRepresentation of Autonomous Entities at the Level of the Central Government
This report was prepared for a meeting, organised by the European Centre for Minority Issues, with Moldovan and Gagauz officials, aimed at assisting them in resolving their differences over the interpretation of the 1995 Law on the Special Status of Gagauzia. It... read moreConflict Resolution and the ENP
In this Briefing Paper, Richard Whitman and I examine how the European Neighbourhood Policy can be enhanced to make a contribution to conflict management in the Southern neighbourhood.
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