Conflict Resolution in Frozen Conflicts: Timing in Nagorno-Karabakh

Frozen conflicts have become a persistent phenomenon in the international arena. At the same time, very little research has focused on the factors that have prevented conflict resolution in such cases. This paper focuses on the case of Nagorno-Karabakh and analyses the role of timing for peace initiatives in frozen conflicts. The paper investigates how political, economic and foreign policy institutions that have emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh have consolidated its features of a de facto state and how that in turn has affected the peace process. The findings from the Nagorno-Karabakh case demonstrate that as a de facto state consolidates, the pool of acceptable peace alternatives becomes increasingly limited, eventually leaving the only option for conflict resolution—the recognition of de facto independence.