“Most accounts of the unresolved conflicts in Eurasia summarily dismiss the multi-level role of external NGOs and international organizations. In this rich and conceptually innovative study, Nina Lutterjohann expands our understanding of ‘success’ and ‘failure’ by showing how external actors, even when they don't definitively ‘solve’ a conflict steeped in geopolitics, can still transform relations among local actors in important ways that meaningfully change their perceptions and on-the ground relations.”

Alexander Cooley, Columbia University

“This is a very interesting book that compares two continuing, unresolved conflicts from the Former Soviet Union – the breakaway regions of Abkhazia from the Republic of Georgia and Transnistria from the Republic of Moldova – and provides a lens through which the present war in Ukraine can be scrutinized. There are few publications that make such comparisons, or if a comparative framework is offered it often focuses on Russia’s role. This book focuses on the role of International Organisations and their ability – or inability, as the case may be – to broker peace between the various actors involved in the conflicts. Importantly, this includes actors that are not party to the conflict but have interests or agendas connected to the resolution of these conflicts such as NATO, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union. Lutterjohann’s book will be very useful to other scholars, especially those in Peace and Conflict Studies, to read an analysis of the limits of powerful International Organisations in shaping the impacts of conflicts on populations caught up in war. These are useful lessons for those that study conflicts far from the Former Soviet Union as well as those who are examining conflicts within it.”

Jeffrey Stevenson Murer, University of St. Andrews

“As the EU has expanded its engagement with Eastern Europe through the Eastern Partnership, it has been confronted with the dilemma of the intractable conflicts in this region. The danger of unresolved conflicts, and their role in the geopolitical tug-of-war between the West and Russia, unfortunately remain poorly understood in spite of the war in Ukraine. Nina Lutterjohann’s book helps us understand not only why these conflicts have remained unresolved, but bores into the role of international organizations in the conflict process. As she argues convincingly, international organizations lacked sufficient imagination to help transform the conflicts. They were perceived as weak by conflict parties, while frequently duplicating each other’s activities. All the while, geopolitical forces affecting the region grew harder to navigate. These conflicts will remain a feature of the European landscape for a long time to come, and both intergovernmental and nongovernmental organization would do well to learn from past mistakes and fundamentally revamp their approaches.”

Svante Cornell, Institute for Security and Development Policy

“Dr Nina Lutterjohann's work on the post-Soviet space is highly relevant and timely. In recent years we have been inundated with information about conflicts in these regions, but not enough work has been done to create analytical frameworks. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of international actors in these conflicts will help us to take advantage of areas where we can strengthen initiatives that could produce positive results. Understanding the EU's capacity to work for a safer world is a primary and essential interest for Europe, not just in academic research but the real basis for policy-oriented research.”

Paulo Botta, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina