The European Union and contested states Insights from Kosovo, northern Cyprus and Palestine

Although sovereignty and statehood are twin premises of the Westphalian international order, a growing number of contested states challenge their centrality. Despite a lack of recognition, compromised territoriality and uncertain political stature, contested states perform sovereignty on the sidelines of the international system thereby putting the boundaries of the sovereign global order to the test. Several of those contested states neighbour the EU, cooperate with it and/or are located into European territory. Inspired by this, the thesis analyses the impact of contested statehood on the EU’s external action by drawing on three distinct contested states (Kosovo, northern Cyprus and Palestine) which interact with the EU in various ways (depending on the EU’s position on their self-determination campaigns) and on different levels (policy streams and frameworks). The thesis carries out a qualitative assessment, engaging with mainstream and critical concepts while also including case studies, discourse analysis and empirical insights acquired by semi-structured interviews. On Kosovo, the thesis presents the marginal effect of contested statehood on the EU institution-building and crisis management (EULEX) instruments, in contrast to the political domain, where the influence is high, forfeiting Kosovo’s international recognition. On the Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus, the thesis focuses on unintended consequences that emerge as side effects of the EU’s engagement in Cyprus, with an often negative impact on the EU’s policies and stated ambition. The engagement with Palestine delves into the performativity of external statehood through everyday diplomatic practices which are then viewed through the lens of international discourse to demonstrate the counterintuitive relation between the externalisation of ‘agency’ and the dominance of international sovereign norms. Lastly, the thesis presents the necropolitical management of the EU in contested states, showing how EU foreign policy is still influenced, if not driven, by colonial legacies, post-colonial narratives and selective application of international law. The thesis concludes that despite precarious legal status, subordination through international law and coloniality, contested states navigate international invisibility with relative success illustrating that contested statehood has become a permanent feature of the international order.