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Kosovo has declared unilateral independence. The restive ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo opened one of the first cracks in the fracture of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The process now looks to have played itself out, with the SFRY long dissolved, Serbia reduced to a rump and its province of Kosovo now achieving independence, albeit in a scrappy and contested manner. However, this may prove merely the end of a chapter in the story.
Achieving closure is proving elusive, because Serbs remain extraordinarily insistent that Kosovo is an inalienable part of their country, irrespective of the wishes of the majority in Kosovo itself. The Kosovars are equally determined not to submit again to rule from Belgrade. Most, but not all, of the international community, led by the United States, major EU countries and the UN bureaucracy, have decided to resolve the conundrum by recognising the ‘facts on the ground’ and creating another new small state in Europe. The hope is that once the Kosovars take responsibility for running their own affairs, they will rise to the occasion by consolidating the rule of law, setting the economy back on its feet and treating the remaining Serb minority in an exemplary manner. However, the problems with this approach are manifold.
The call will address questions such as:
