Authors

Discussion

How have local and regional actors involved in international negotiation formats for Georgia, Moldova, Armenia/Azerbaijan (failed to) adapt their governance positions to the nexus of 'peace', 'security' and 'crisis' in relation to the risks of unresolved territorial conflicts in Eastern Europe since 2014 and amidst Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine? What lessons can be drawn from the failure of the Normandy format and the Minsk process? What are the prospects for adapting governance responses to navigate 'peace', 'security' and 'crisis' in relation to political dialogue and political settlements in the so-called post-Soviet space since 2022? – By mapping and comparing the interconnections of regional and local actors' governance responses to the changing role(s) of Russia since 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the paper seeks to develop a better understanding of whether we are witnessing not only a process of disruption, but also an increased pressure for exchange and mutual learning when it comes to failures of governance of local and regional actors in negotiation formats for unsettled territorial conflicts in Eastern Europe at the local and regional level.

Since the 1990s, Russia has assembled an amalgam of local and regional intermediary actors, networks and power structures in the unresolved territorial conflicts in the so-called post-Soviet space that have facilitated the extension, intensification and consolidation of Russia's exercise of power as a 'patron state' and other forms of external governance beyond its territory. The maintenance by regional and local actors of Russia's ostensible role as a third party and mediator in various international negotiating formats addressing the region's unresolved territorial conflicts has also been part of the protracted governance of the peace and security nexus.  At the same time, these complex networks of relations, interconnections and interdependencies have always been fluid and linked to power struggles at the local and regional levels. However, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine represents a disruption and a potentially critical juncture for regional and local actors' governance responses to the peace and security nexus and Russia's role(s) in unresolved territorial conflicts in the context of polycrisis and fragmentation. The paper will therefore examine and compare local and regional actors' governance responses in international negotiation formats to unresolved territorial conflicts and Russia's role in local and regional peace and security dynamics. It will also discuss whether, why and how local actors' expectations of political dialogue and the achievement of (just) negotiated settlements have changed, especially since 2014 and 2022.