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2. A Spoiler in the Balkans? Russia and the Final Resolution of the Kosovo Conflict
- Author:
- Maxim Samorukov
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The biggest point of contention in the Balkans is back on Europe’s front burner. For decades, Serbia was mired in a conflict with Kosovo, its breakaway province that unilaterally declared independence in 2008 after violent ethnic clashes and international intervention in the late 1990s. Last year, a protracted diplomatic effort to end the conflict was unexpectedly boosted when then U.S. national security adviser John Bolton announced that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was ready to consider changes to the Serbia-Kosovo border as part of a settlement. The Serbian government welcomed the idea, giving rise to hopes that a negotiated solution to the Balkan conflict is now potentially within reach. Still, any final settlement is very much an uphill battle. Many Kosovar leaders are not enthusiastic about the proposed border correction, which would entail swapping areas in northern Kosovo populated mainly by ethnic Serbs for Serbian municipalities dominated by ethnic Albanians. Germany and other members of the European Union (EU) have disapproved strongly, arguing that redrawing boundaries may open a Pandora’s box, with unpredictable ripple effects.2 On top of all that, it is increasingly clear that Russia, which has long held great sway over the region, may not actually want the conflict resolved at all. So long as Serbia does not formally recognize Kosovo’s independence, it must rely on Russia’s veto power in the United Nations (UN) Security Council to prevent full international recognition of what it regards as a breakaway province. That dependency gives Russia a nontrivial degree of influence, both in the region and within Serbia itself. The Kremlin fears that ending the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo will diminish Russia’s stature in Serbia and severely undermine its clout in the Balkans. Moscow is well-positioned to derail the resolution process. Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoys unchecked popularity across most of Serbian society, and the Russian political and national security establishment maintains close ties with its counterparts among Serbia’s political and security elites, who tend to strongly oppose any compromise with Kosovo. From all appearances, Moscow also hopes to use its influence over the Kosovo issue as leverage in its acrimonious relationship with the West.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Conflict, and UN Security Council
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Kosovo, Serbia, Balkans, and United States of America
3. Kosovo 20 Years On: Implications For International Order
- Author:
- Edward Newman and Gëzim Visoka
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Kosovo’s small size belies the major impact it has had on the evolving international order: the norms and institutions that shape the behavior and practices of states and other international actors. In three controversial policy areas— humanitarian intervention, international peacebuilding, and international recognition—Kosovo has been the focus of events and debates with far-reaching and globally significant effects. This article will present and discuss these three subjects, and then conclude by considering how Kosovo’s future may continue to be tied to the shifting contours of international order in the context of renewed great power geopolitical rivalry.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, War, Humanitarian Intervention, and Military Intervention
- Political Geography:
- Kosovo and Yugoslavia
4. Gender Based Violence In The Kosovo War
- Author:
- Atifete Jahjaga
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Our first question is about the ethnic cleansing that happened during the Kosovo Campaign. It is estimated that 20,000 Albanian men and women experienced sexual violence between 1998 and 2000. Many survivors of sexual violence have been hesitant to speak up, and there were also many mass killings that are only now being discovered. How, in a general sense, did you approach these issues as president given the lack of information, and how has the lack of information made the justice process more difficult?
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Law, Humanitarian Intervention, and Ethnic Cleansing
- Political Geography:
- Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Armenia
5. How We Succeeded In Kosovo
- Author:
- Wesley K. Clark
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- The countries of Southeast Europe contain numerous ethnic groups that are united by shared geography but divided by language, history, and culture. These nations are located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, and, for centuries, were subjected to Turkish invasion, Austro-Hungarian resistance, Russian Pan-Slavism, Venetian culture along the Adriatic coast, and the respective weights of Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Melding these groups into the state of Yugoslavia at the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference proved only a temporary solution: with the death of Yugloslav President Josip Tito in 1980, the fractionating forces became dominant, and by 1991, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia were each struggling to secede or survive against a Serb-dominated Serbia-Montenegro.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, and Military Intervention
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Asia, Kosovo, and Yugoslavia
6. Swap-Shop: Time for a Deal in Kosovo?
- Author:
- Louis Sell
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- The overwhelming majority of politically active Kosovo Albanians remain committed to a democratic vision of their country’s future, anchored by eventual membership in the EU and NATO. But many are losing faith in the EU’s institutional structure, which they view as having reneged on a promised to provide them visa-free entry and failing to provide a clear path toward membership. Kosovars retain a strong faith in the US, which they correctly see as primarily responsible for their liberation from Serbian oppression and as their only reliable ally in an increasingly dangerous Balkan environment.
- Topic:
- Development, Diplomacy, Territorial Disputes, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, Balkans, United States of America, and European Union
7. The Unfulfilled Promise of Kosovo Visa Liberalization
- Author:
- Jana Juzová
- Publication Date:
- 03-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- Kosovo’s path towards visa liberalization started in 2012 when the European Commission submitted the Visa Liberalization Roadmap for Kosovo. This step was long awaited by the small country as all the other five Western Balkan states started the dialogue already in May and June 2008. At that time, it was still being decided inside EU member states whether they would recognize the newly declared state1 and it was clear that there is no consensus across the EU. As the united EU approach towards Kosovo proved to be a difficult and sensitive issue due to the concerns that opening visa dialogue would imply recognition, Kosovo was left out from the process. The length of the visa liberalization process differed among the Western Balkan countries. Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia progressed rather swiftly, and the dialogue was closed with the decision to lift the visa regime for these countries in late-2009. Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina had to wait one year longer as their readiness and fulfilment of conditions was evaluated as insufficient in 2009. Kosovo, lagging behind the rest of the region, opened the dialog with the EU in 2012, at the same time as Georgia. While Georgian citizens already reached a successful end of the process and are allowed to travel to the EU without visa since March 2017, it is still uncertain when Kosovo will achieve this objective.
- Topic:
- Immigration, European Union, Borders, and Visa
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Kosovo
8. Kosovo elections – moving towards better future?
- Author:
- Jana Juzová
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- The result of the Kosovo parliamentary elections this month brought rather unexpected result, casting the ruling parties to opposition and ending 12 years of PDK-led governance in Kosovo, representing thus the first real governmental change since Kosovo’s independence. The winner of the elections, the Vetevendosje (“Self-Determination”) party, has become a part of the government for the very first time, with a very narrow victory over another opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). So far, the new government seems to be good news for Kosovo, possibly leading to turning things around, especially with regard to the fight against corruption and crime, economic issues and services for citizens. The new political elites inherited from their predecessors plenty of not only internal but also external challenges, most urgently the stalled dialogue with Serbia on normalization of relations between the two countries.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Government, Politics, and Elections
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Kosovo
9. August 2019 Issue
- Author:
- Michael Knights, Raffaello Pantucci, Adrian Shtuni, Kujtim Bytyqi, Sam Mullins, and Ross Dayton
- Publication Date:
- 04-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- CTC Sentinel
- Institution:
- The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
- Abstract:
- In our feature article, Michael Knights draws on six research visits to Iraq in 2018 and 2019 to document the expanding footprint region-by-region of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq that were previously labeled “Special Groups” by the United States and in some cases designated as terrorist organizations. Knights assesses “that the Special Groups (not including 18,000-22,000 Badr troops) currently have 63,000 registered personnel … 15 times the size of the Special Groups in 2010, when there were probably as few as 4,000 Special Group operatives in Iraq (again not including Badr personnel in 2010).” He notes a key driver for their growth in manpower and popularity in Iraq was their role in fighting the Islamic State and liberating Sunni population centers under Islamic State control. He writes that “a pantheon of smaller, newer pro-Iran militias is arguably closer to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps than larger and older pro-Iranian militias such as Badr and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq” and identifies Kata’ib Hezbollah led by U.S.-designated terrorist Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as the greatest threat to U.S. interests. With pro-Tehran militias expanding their presence across Iraq and U.S. influence in Iraq reduced since its 2011 troop withdrawal, he argues the United States “needs to be parsimonious and pragmatic if it wishes to push back effectively.” Our interview is with Suzanne Raine, who was the head of the United Kingdom’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) between 2015 and 2017. She outlines to Raffaello Pantucci the lessons learned from her work in counterterrorism and the threat landscape as she sees it. Two articles in this issue focus on the Western Balkans. Adrian Shtuni provides a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the security threats posed by foreign fighters and homegrown jihadis from the region. Kujtim Bytyqi, the Acting Director of the Department for Analysis and Security Policies at the Kosovo Security Council Secretariat, and Sam Mullins outline Kosovo’s experience dealing with returning foreign fighters. Finally, Ross Dayton documents how the Maduro regime in Venezuela has increased its reliance on paramilitary groups, including the Colombian left-wing guerrilla group ELN, which was responsible for the suicide car bomb attack on the National Police Academy in Bogotá, Colombia, in January 2019.
- Topic:
- Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Jihad, Army, Militias, Foreign Fighters, and Paramilitary
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, United Kingdom, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Kosovo, Syria, and Venezuela
10. The Legal Nature of Social Insurance in Kosovo in the Spirit of EU Integration
- Author:
- Avdullah Robaj
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
- Institution:
- Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
- Abstract:
- Benefits, according to social insurance funds, have the nature of compensation for lost profits. Hence, the social insurance function has to meet the most important subjective requirements, provide for bare needs, and fulfill the minimum standard of living. Contemporary states undertake a series of economic, social, cultural, health, and legal measures to ensure the protection of individuals and families. Various authors define the level of satisfying the needs as the social minimum. Thus, a special law provides the right to material benefit for those in need. Therefore, Kosovo pays special attention to family, mothers, children, martyrs, invalids, veterans, and KLA members. The social insurance scheme in the Republic of Kosovo is not defined by a special law but is defined by a set of laws. Thus, Kosovo has currently legal infrastructure necessary for beneficiaries of the social insurance scheme, though not in the desired form and capacity.
- Topic:
- European Union, Regional Integration, and Social Services
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Kosovo