Peace and Security

Research on peace and security focuses on violence prevention and sustainable peacebuilding, giving special attention to the multi-level and multi-actor dimensions involved. Particular emphasis lies on the various interactions between the United Nations, regional organizations active in matters of peace and security and a variety of non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations and business enterprises. The Centre currently has five sub-themes on which it focuses its research.

A first sub-theme concerns the role of the European Union as a regional actor in peace and security with global aspirations and in a context of challenged and changing multilateralism, with a specific focus on new security challenges such as energy security and climate change. The EU-GRASP project (EU 7th Framework) produced various papers and publications on European energy crisis management capabilities after the Lisbon Treaty, global energy governance and effective multilateralism in the field of security. Publication of an international edited volume on The EU and Multilateral Security Governance is foreseen with Routledge in 2011. In addition to the publication output, the project has acted as a framework for the organization of several events related to energy security and EU efforts in this area.

A second sub-theme deals with security-related aspects of the United Nations, in particular the role and reform of the UN Security Council and its relation to regional security organizations. This topic is at the forefront of the research agenda of the Centre of Excellence Research Programme, in the context of which an elaborate empirical case-study will be devoted to the UN Security Council and regional security actors (section 4.1).The scope of the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter has been the object of thorough doctoral research by Dr. Tom Ruys, under a scholarship funded by Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), which has meanwhile culminated in the book ‘Armed Attack’ and Article 51 of the UN Charter. Evolutions in Customary Law and Practice published with Cambridge University Press (infra, p. 50).

A third sub-theme involves research into the role of the European Union as a conflict prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding actor and the prospect for the EU to provide an added value to UN peace operations around the world. In the period covered by this report, this resulted in the book The European Union and Peacebuilding (see infra, p. 52), with a preface by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness C. Ashton. The EU’s activities in the field of peace and security are also explored from a comparative perspective, with a focus on transatlantic relations. In December 2009, the Centre organized the Transatlantic Strategy Forum, the purpose of which was to contribute to the construction of a shared transatlantic vision of the strategic challenges the United States and the European Union are confronted with. Focusing on five areas of transatlantic relations: (i) peace and security, (ii) human rights and rule of law, (iii) energy and climate change, (iv) trade and political economy, and (v) migration, the Transatlantic Strategy Forum brought together academics and policy-makers from both sides of the Atlantic. Their valuable insights have been compiled in an extensive conference report and an edited volume, which have been sent to opinion leaders across the globe, and is still available on the Centre’s website (see also section 7.2).

A fourth sub-theme relates to the activities of non-state actors in armed conflicts (see also section 4.5). The main objective of this research is to understand which legal and normative frameworks regulate economic activities that are undertaken in, or in connection with, conflict zones.

A fifth sub-theme concerns the international responsibility for nuclear damage. Research under this heading focuses on the relevance of the law of state responsibility for wrongful acts in the context of large-scale and ultrahazardous transboundary damage. The project in question is funded jointly by Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN). This unique partnership facilitates fruitful discussions with experts from SCK•CEN and engagement with its innovative Programme of Integration of Social Aspects into Nuclear Research.