The Border Dispute Between Croatia and Slovenia : The Stages of a Protracted Conflict and Its Implications for EU Enlargement

This book re-constructs the evolution of the border conflict between Croatia and Slovenia. The aim is to reveal the processes at work, the historical and contemporary circumstances, and the strategies and motives of the actors involved. The book highlights the roles of the European Union and of judicial third parties in the management of the conflict. Further, it considers the precedent-setting value of the Slovenian-Croatian conflict, the attempts at its resolution, and what they mean for the ongoing and prospective EU enlargement in South East Europe. Internal documents and interviews are at the heart of this process-tracing analysis, which discusses the third-party roles of the European Commission and the EU Council Presidency in 2008/2009 as a mediator-facilitator in the drafting stages of the arbitration agreement, and the judicial work of the arbitration tribunal and the EU Court of Justice. Lastly, the book offers policy recommendations on how to strengthen dispute resolution and solve current bilateral issues in the EU accession process.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Introduction to the Border Dispute Between Croatia and Slovenia (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 1-40 History of Territorial, Political, and Violent Conflict in the Region (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 41-96 Marine Spaces and Maritime Delimitation (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 97-132 The Four Development Phases of the Croatia-Slovenia Border Dispute (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 133-256 Analytical Framework Findings (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 257-287 Policy Recommendations (Thomas Bickl)....Pages 289-327 Back Matter ....Pages 329-373