| Throughout history, Europe has been the site of numerous and enduring ethnic conflicts. Since the mid-twentieth century, the European Union (EU) has increased both its size and policymaking competency, but does not have the authority to solve domestic conflicts in member states. Despite this, it can still have influence on paramilitary domestic ethnic conflict in Europe, primarily through providing a change of context and facilitating cooperation between conflicting parties, and this influence is consistent with previously established conflict solving strategies. However, EU influence is not uniform across member states, and its effectiveness will depend on the domestic context of the conflict. The ways in which the EU can influence ethnic conflict in member states differ from the ways it can do so in candidate states. In candidate states, the EU is more overt and applies direct pressure through accession conditionality, and this influence is also consistent with conflict solving strategies. |
