This report was prepared by Dr Edel Hughes, senior lecturer at Middlesex University London.
The report explores the policies and activities of the European Union in the area of conflict transformation through outlining the EU’s claims in terms of its capacity to act as a peacebuilder and assessing the institutional mechanisms that exist in order to lend it support. The report also provides an overview of the involvement of the EU in the Kurdish conflict in Turkey and asks whether it could play a greater role in the search for a solution. The author traces the EU’s self-identification as a project concerned with securing and maintaining peace through economic cooperation back to the 1951 Treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and examines the institutional mechanisms relating to peace and stability that have been developed through the years. DPI wishes to thank the author for this engaging report, which details the advent of two new political parties in Turkey, potentially with important ramifications for the resolution process. The views and opinions expressed in the report remain those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DPI.