Literature review of implications of regional fragmentation for crises and conflict

The literature review on regional fragmentation will be conducted with a view to investigating the political social economic ethnic religious and ideological cleavages along which regions fragment the extent to which fragmentation fuels or is fuelled by interstate competition and consequently the reasons explaining the absence or failure of formal and informal governance structures It will devote special attention to studies highlighting the connection between the fragmentation of regions and theinability of the EU and its member states to formulate and implement common or at least coordinated action on crises and conflicts The review will concentrate mostly on processes of fragmentation in those areas that mostly affect the strategic and security interests of the EU and member states However it will also account for regional specificity such as the varying degrees of regional fragmentation across different parts of the world