The stabilisation dilemma: conceptualising international responses to secession and de facto states

ABSTRACT

De facto states challenge traditional concepts of statehood, the territorial integrity of their metropolitan states and the stability of the international system. This article argues that international organisations (IOs) and states face one major dilemma in their responses to such disputed entities and the protracted conflicts around them – the “stabilisation dilemma”. The stabilisation dilemma explains why the international community struggles to respond to unilateral secession and as a consequence acts ambiguously. By developing and applying this dilemma to Ukraine and beyond, this article contributes to the conceptualisation and better understanding of international responses towards (evolving) de facto states.

KEYWORDS:

• De facto states
• protracted conflicts
• international engagement
• stabilisation dilemma
• secession
• Ukraine

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Sebastian Relitz is a doctoral candidate at the Department of International Relations at Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena and an associated researcher at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg.

Notes

1 https://www.the-american-interest.com/2014/03/20/crimea-and-the-lessons-of-frozen-conflicts/.

2 https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/13/putins-frozen-conflicts/.

3 https://mondediplo.com/2015/03/04transnistria.

4 Even after peaceful reintegration, the functionality and effectiveness of regional autonomy in Gagauzia is contested (Antohi 2018).

5 https://www.rferl.org/a/javelin-missile-delivery-ukraine-us-confirmed/29200588.html.

6 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/31/ukraine-kurt-volker-us-arms-supplies.

7 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/20/british-troops-deployed-ukraine-face-threat-russia-mod-announce/.

8 Based on practical experience of the author in organising multiple cross-regional dialogue workshops in the framework of the project ‘Corridors – Dialogue through Cooperation’ (www.opencorridors.de).

9 https://europa.eu/newsroom/highlights/special-coverage/eu-sanctions-against-russia-over-ukraine-crisis_en.

10 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/12/10/ukraine-eu-adds-nine-persons-involved-in-elections-in-donetsk-people-s-republic-and-luhansk-people-s-republic-to-sanctions-list/pdf.

11 https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/37266.html.

12 Interview with EU official in Chisinau in May 2016 and June 2017.

13 Interview with EU official in Tbilisi in September 2016.

14 Interview with EUMM official in Tbilisi in September 2016.

15 https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/ukraine_humanitarian_needs_overview_2019_en.pdf.

16 https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/ukraine_humanitarian_response_plan_2018.pdf.