New video from ECDPM on peace building and conflict prevention. 

Quick CSDP links 

Seeing the links between terrorism, organized crime, other good and bad flows the conflict cycle , perceptions, values, corruption and assistance essential for strategy and a comprehensive approach. So is lessons learned and evaluation. 

And more specifically on this and the following pages on CSDP and defence, crisis management missions and conflict prevention. 
Search the website:

Follow and interact also with the new EU Horizon 2020 project: 

The EU strategic review:

Twitter feed on gender and conflict 

Brief personal reflection on conflict as a perspective on security

​The last year has really illustrated vividly that focus on the conflict cycle is but one of many possible ways to look at security.  Still this is the predominant perspective of the common European security and defence policy CSDP, focusing on defence, crisis management and conflict prevention.

There are of course also other perspectives using the notion of the conflict cycle focussing on processes of escalation, revenge, etc. 
 
And conflicts are not only military or require military capabilities or an issue of peace ass illustrated by the 2015 Peace Index. It may be internal to the EU and its member States and result in violence related to terrorism, migration, organised crime in all its various aspects etc. It may be seen from the perspective of horizontal proliferation of conflict, conflict between big powers or simply as manifestation of violence.
 
And then again it may manifest itself not only in terms of physical violence but in terms of environmental degradation, and in general worsening life conditions for human beings and wildlife forcing migration et cetera, lowering the quality of life et cetera. 
 
It is interesting to note that during the last year a new EU civilian capabilities project website has been launched.
 
Conflicts furthermore have important links to key issues relating to gender.
 
 The current EU perspective on the conflict cycle can be illustrated by the way it has been dealt with in the EU strategic review putting  heavy emphasis on diplomacy.

From the handbook on EU and Security:

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Link to publisher of ebook

Links to Crisis group pages: