EU peacebuilding in Kosovo An analysis of dealing with peacebuilding paradoxes and engagement with civil society
Publisher: Abraham M. Verheij
Volume: 127 pages, pdf
Description:
The Kosovo War was the finale of the violent disintegration of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo was one of the first areas in the Federation where violence erupted, but full-fledged warfare was held at bay in the early 1990s. As the underlying tensions were not addressed and firm oppression of the Kosovo Albanian majority in Kosovo continued, the area plunged into a period of violent conflict at the end of the decade. Once again, ethnic disputes and resurgent nationalisms had led to a deteriorating spiral of repression and violence in the former Yugoslavia. From early 1998 to 1999 the war was fought between the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a Kosovo Albanian guerrilla organization aiming at independence for Kosovo. Following international concern over the deteriorating situation, a bombing campaign by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was launched against the repressive and militaristic regime in Belgrade on March 24, 1999. This intervention was not mandated by a resolution of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, as Russia and China considered the campaign a violation of Serbia’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, the NATO countries decided to intervene against what was considered as another campaign of ethnic cleansing commanded by Belgrade, which included severe human rights violations and caused a huge refugee crisis. The bombing of Yugoslavia remains a controversial issue, and has led to international debates on the tense relationship between national sovereignty and respect for individual human rights.