This paper analyzes theories of conflict management and their relevance for multilateral security institutions in coping with continuing violent conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region. It begins with an emphasis on the "diagnosis" of conflicts, noting that tools for conflict management must be adapted to the particular circumstances of each conflict, even while drawing on general principles of conflict management. It then surveys the range of conflict management approaches through the cycle of conflict - prevention of violent conflict, management of escalation, crisis management, negotiation of cease-fire and other peace agreements, peacekeeping and peace-enforcement, resolution of the underlying drivers of conflict, post-conflict peace-building, and finally promotion of reconciliation between former enemies and the construction of stable peace. It concludes with some implications of this approach for the special role that multilateral security institutions - in particular NATO, the OSCE, and the EU may play in the prevention, management, and resolution of violent conflicts in the contemporary Euro-Atlantic security environment. The focus here is on facilitation, mediation, monitoring, and peacekeeping roles for multilateral institutions.
