LAJČÁK M. - EU Diplomacy and Mediation in Post-Conflict Crises in the Western Balkans (8h)

This two-day seminar offers an in-depth exploration of the European Union’s diplomatic and mediation efforts in the post-conflict crises periods in the Western Balkans. It aims to strengthen the students’ understanding of the European Union’s diplomatic engagement in the Western Balkans during and after the violent disintegration of the former SFR Yugoslavia by dwelling into prof. Miroslav Lajčák’s firsthand experience as the 1) negotiator, organiser & supervisor of the referendum of the independence of Montenegro on behalf of the EU, 2) International Community’s High Representative and the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) in Bosnia & Herzegovina, as well as 3) his latest role in the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue as EU’s Special Representative. 

Commencing with a short introductory elaboration on the conceptual, theoretical & typological notions on the topics of conflict mediation & peacebuilding, followed by an in-depth analysis of the root causes, contemporary challenges and future prospects – reinforced by prof. Miroslav Lajčák’s personal account derived from his work “on the ground” in the region, the seminar aims to provide the students with a conceptualisation of the EU’s diplomatic agency & leverage in the Western Balkans by focusing on the case studies of Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo. 

By the end of the seminar, participants will be equipped with both analytical insights and grounded knowledge obtained from the specific contexts of Montenegro’s road to the restoration of its statehood, Bosnia & Herzegovina’s post-Dayton peacebuilding efforts, as well as EU’s reconciliatory endeavours under the auspices of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Professor Miroslav LAJČÁK