Essentially Contested? Kosovo’s Perplexing and Mixed International Statebuilding Record

Krasniqi Gëzim

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding (2016)

BOOK REVIEW

Creating Kosovo: International Oversight and the Making of Ethical Institutions

by Elton Skendaj. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press and Woodrow Wilson Center

Press, 2014. Pp. 192 + references + index + abbreviations + tables + figures + preface.

$49.95 (hbk). ISBN 978-0-8014-5294-9.

State-building in Kosovo: Democracy, Corruption and the EU in the Balkans by

Andrea Lorenzo Capussela. London/New York: I.B. Tauris, 2015. Pp. 229 + notes +

bibliography + index + abbreviations + list of figures and tables + preface. £29.95

(hbk). ISBN 978-1-78076-915-8.

The Boundaries of a Neglected Relationship: Corruption and Economic Freedom

Qerimi, Qerim R. and Sergi, Bruno S.

Problems of Economic Transition (2012)

This article examines the influence of economic freedom on the wider area of institutional performance. In particular, it examines a relatively neglected dimension of correlation between economic freedom and corruption. While economic freedom has been studied from the perspective of its interrelation-ship with various critical dimensions of life and science, such as business-cycle volatility, unemployment, growth, institutions, and homicide, the main inquiry of the present article involves the direct influence of economic freedom on institutional performance, as measured by institutional effectiveness in reducing or dismantling corrupt behavior. We include a review of the relevant literature, and our analysis is based on authoritative empirical data. The geographical scope of the analysis is the countries of the Western Balkan region.

Technology and Development: Universalizing Access to and Protection of Information and Communication Technology

Qerimi, Qerim R.

International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (2012)

As many features of modern digital information and online communications are transcending and transforming the traditional modes of interaction and identity, so is transformed the need for addressing these new features in ways that conform to pertinent realities. A great deal of human events and experiences are likely to occur in ways different from those seen in the pre-digital era. Having witnessed a number of such events and experiences, the next stage is action and understanding. As the potential for change and development, associated with information and communication technology (ICT), is getting fame, its use is bearing fruits, and global internet population constantly increased, so is the demand for enabling equal, wider access, and protection. This article is thus concerned with two fundamental questions: how to universalize access to ICT, and how to protect it from abuse, censorship and restriction. These questions are predominantly explored from the lenses of international law.

Keywords: Global Information, International Law, Sustainable Development, Technology and Development, Technology and Revolutions

Overlapping jurisdictions, disputed territory, unsettled state: the perplexing case of citizenship in Kosovo

Krasniqi, Gezim

Citizenship Studies (2012)

This paper examines the nascent citizenship regime in Kosovo since the country's declaration of independence in 2008. It argues that the defining characteristics of the Kosovan citizenship are: (1) adoption of the ‘new-state’ model (i.e. inclusion into its citizenship of all Kosovo residents); (2) tension between civic and multicultural conceptions of citizenship on the one side, and ethno-national conceptions on the other; and (3) contested nature and overlapping jurisdictions. In addition, it claims that the present legal, political and territorial dispute in Kosovo seriously undermines the consolidation of Kosovo's citizenship regime and has turned Kosovo into a territory of de facto shared sovereignties (condominium-like constellations).

Socialism, National Utopia, and Rock Music: Inside the Albanian Rock Scene of Yugoslavia, 1970–1989'

Krasniqi, Gezim

East Central Europe (2011)

This study examines the nascent Albanian rock scene in Kosovo in the 1970s and 1980s. It argues that the rock scene represented both a subcultural movement as it “deviated” from the prevailing Albanian culture in Yugoslavia (and Albania, as well), introducing new forms of expression, as well as a countercultural movement within the larger Yugoslav space for it conveyed political messages which challenged the predominant political order in Yugoslavia. As a cultural phenomenon embedded in a specific socioeconomic and geopolitical context, the Albanian rock scene in Kosovo, although relatively short-lived, initiated important changes in the cultural and social life of Kosovo.

The ‘forbidden fruit’: Islam and politics of identity in Kosovo and Macedonia

Krasniqi, Gezim

Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (2011)

This paper depicts the interplay of religion and politics, as well as of external and internal actors among Albanian communities in Kosovo and Macedonia. It argues that Islam has never been allowed into the political space, despite occasional attempts to politicize it and utilize it for political and nationalist expediency. This relative absence of Islam from the political sphere is due to a specific social and political context, as well as to a specific historical experience. However, one can depict a higher presence of Islam among Albanians in Macedonia, for reasons related to their position as a minority within an Orthodox majority country that is undergoing a process of reaffirmation of religion as an essential pillar of an emerging Macedonian national identity.

EU Actorness in International Affairs: The Case of EULEX Mission in Kosovo

Greiçevci, Labinot

Perspectives on European Politics and Society (2011)

This article discusses one of the missions of the European Union Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and, so far, the biggest EU mission in the area of conflict management: the rule of law mission in Kosovo, dubbed EULEX Kosovo. Its conceptual framework is built on the EU's international role and notably on the EU actorness thesis. The article explores several important aspects of the EULEX mission in Kosovo. In doing so, it looks at the following issues: (a) the first instance of the EULEX mission based on the comprehensive Ahtisaari proposal for the future status of Kosovo; (b) the launch of EULEX and, through this, EU cohesion in the mission itself; (c) the difficult process of EULEX deployment in Kosovo, which resulted in a ‘compromised authority’ and ‘ambiguous recognition’ of the mission itself; and (d) EULEX autonomy in view of its relations with other international actors (notably UNMIK) and other EU entities involved in Kosovo. In addition, the article examines the implications that the handicapped actorness of EULEX might have for its current and future input, through analyzing briefly the initial results and failures of EULEX in Kosovo. Thus, the article examines the process of establishing EULEX in Kosovo and sheds light on the EU's policies in Kosovo and in the western Balkans.

Substantive and procedural requirements for admission to membership in the United Nations

Qerimi, Qerim R.

“E Drejta” (LAW), Nr. 1/2010

The principal aim of this article is two-fold: First, to identify, clarify and discuss the conditions for admission to membership in the United Nations, and second, to expose the practical process of membership in this organization. For purposes of achieving the first aim, the focus is maintained almost exclusively on the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice. As to the second aim, the relevant rules of procedure of both the General Assembly and the Security Council are discussed and analyzed. Within this broader context, the article also examines the respective competencies of these principal organs of the United Nations in the decision-making process concerning admission or refusal of an applicant to membership in the world organization. Reading and understanding the pertinent provisions of the Charter, as also interpreted by the International Court of Justice, the article comes at the conclusion that confirms the hypothesis that admission of new members in the United Nations is subject to judgment by the organization, and that the discretion of States, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, is not unlimited. In fact, their discretion, though possible in the process and within the context of verifying the required criteria for membership, is and should be conditioned by the Charter’s specified list of conditions for membership, which in itself is limited and complete.

The International Community’s Modus Operandi in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo: A Critical Assessment

Krasniqi, Gezim

Südosteuropa (2010)

This paper analyzes the involvement of the international community in the region of the former Yugoslavia, focusing on the cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, and on its attempts to foster multiethnic democracies in these war-torn societies. It argues that the prevailing assumption among the international community that democratic and multicultural institutional frameworks would automatically give rise to liberal democracy in the former Yugoslavia, irrespective of the establishment of rule of law, has harmed efforts to create well-functioning democracies and stable societies. Moreover, the paper argues that despite the mantra of ”multiethnicity” propagated by the international administrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Kosovo, ethnic segregation has been nourished by applying the principle of territoriality when conferring group-differentiated rights.

'Parallel system' in Kosovo: strengthening ethnic identity through solidarity and common social action'

Krasniqi, Gezim

SEEU Review (2010)

This paper argues that ethnic and national solidarity expressed among Albanians in Kosovo in the 1990s, which was created as a result of the social and political action, had a significant impact on political mobilization and reinforcement of national identity among Kosovar Albanians. This movement and common social action it undertook did reinforce the sense of belonging and ethnic identification among Albanians. Further, it argues that solidarity, despite the fact that is created with the aim of providing disadvantaged groups with a resource for collective action and group self-protection, it may lead to ethnic or national ‘unmixing’, alienation and hostility. Apart from the issue of solidarity, this paper analyzes the Kosovar ‘parallel system’ from the point of view of social movements and networks as well as its relations with identity and political change it aimed to achieve.

The case of Kosovo: international statebuilding from a pending final political status to an independent country

Greiçevci, Labinot

ISIG Journal - Quarterly of International Sociology (2009)

This article is concerned with the case of Kosovo, where the international community had and to some extent is still having the main role of state-builder. It builds on the conceptual literature on international state-building theories by exploring the achievements and successes on the one side, and the failures and limits on the other side of this process. Thus, the article analysed and scrutinized the role that international community played from its earlier beginnings until nowadays in this complex process of state-building, notably on the issue of institution-building and economic reconstruction and development. Hence, the article attempts to sheds light on the stage that international community reached till now on this state-building process. Moreover, the article analyses in a theoretically-informed manner the possible ways forward, and if this process can lead to the viable State or to the failed one, in the case of Kosovo.

Informal ad hoc groupings of states as alternative means of conflict resolution: The case of “Contact Group”

Qerimi, Qerim R.

US-China Law Review (2009)

This paper investigates the role of informal groups, such as “Contact Group”, in modern-day practice of conflict prevention, mediation, and settlement. It further aims to examine the legal status of this ad hoc grouping of states under international law, analyzing the Contact Group’s involvement and operation in cases of Namibia (formerly South West Africa), Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. This empirical survey is instrumental to delimit and define the relationship that is created between formal and informal processes and institutions at the planetary level, as a result of the emergence and proliferation of informal ad hoc groupings of states. The bases of authority, political effectiveness, and the place and position of the Contact Group within the existing UN system of collective security are used to understand the rationale behind the formation and existence, as well as contribution and utility of such informal structures.

The role of inter-ethnic dialogue on prejudice reduction and improved communication in Kosovo

Voca, Shpend

Applied Conflict Transformations Studies (2009)

The present study has been concerned with the case of inter-ethnic dialogue in Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje in relation to the return process. The study focuses on the participation of the Albanian receiving community and the Serbian returning community in inter-ethnic dialogue meetings. The data for this study come from observation during the dialogue meetings and from interviews with participants. The present research shows that inter-ethnic dialogue does reduce prejudice and improve communication. I have used the ‘contact hypothesis’ to look at this in a systematic way. My findings suggest that changes have taken place in participants’ expectations, learning, and emotional experience. Moreover, the findings suggest a breaking of the barriers to communication, an increasing number of greetings, and longer conversations in a friendly manner. Regarding the generalisation process, what can certainly be claimed is that the experience taking place between participants does hold potential for prejudice reduction and improved communication among uninvolved community members in dialogue meetings. However, this research has also shown that external events taking place in Kosovo at the time did create negative obstacles to prejudice reduction and improved communication.

Defective alike, yet not equal; Cyprus, Taiwan and Kosovo

Krasniqi, Gezim

Journal of Human Rights and Policy (2009)

This paper sets out to examine and compare three cases of political communities where internal and/or external political disagreements exist regarding the nature of the state and its political and legal subjectivity in international law, namely Cyprus, Taiwan and Kosovo. By looking at certain constrains and quite different state abilities of the three case studies, this paper argues that statehood and recognition criteria are often contradictory and unclear. In addition, it suggests that a new practice of partial statehood and incomplete sovereignty is gaining momentum in international politics. In this context, it looks at the continuous diminishing role of the Westphalian model of state and inability and powerlessness of the United Nations (UN) to set clear criteria for statehood and implement them accordingly.

The case of Kosovo: from 'International Statebuilding' to an 'Internationally Supervised and Independent Country'

Greiçevci, Labinot

L'Europe en formation (2008)

This article is concerned with the process of international state-building in the case of Kosovo. It builds on the synthesis of literature of institution-building and democratization (including civil society, civic culture, free elections and free market economy) in order to explore the roles of the international community in all these issues and to tackle the particular role of the EU in this process. The article is divided in two parts: (a) the first part of the article analyzes on the one side the role and the power that the international community had within this process, and on the other side it discusses the successes and failures of the international community in the process of international state-building until the Kosovo Declaration of Independence; (b) the second part discusses and analyzes very briefly the newest developments in the independent Kosovo. Hence, the article tries to draw conclusions based on the overall analysis that the newest state in the world (Republic of Kosovo) can be a viable and self-sustaining state in a mid-term future.

Assessing the role of the High Representative or EU Special Representative in the process of state-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Escaping the weak or failed state paradigm

Greiçevci, Labinot

Journal of Human Rights and Policy (2008)

State-building by third parties as opposed to indigenous state-building is not an elderly practice. This practice has its roots in the endeavor of the colonial powers to strengthen the capacities of their colonies in order to transfer sovereignty to the local authorities. This practice has been applied after the Second World War in the reconstruction of Germany and Japan by United States and its allies. Nowadays, this practice is carried out in most of the cases by United Nations in different parts of the world. But, not all these missions have been successful, meaning that some of them have produced failed or weak States (e.g., Somalia, Rwanda). A new phenomenon of this practice is a growing and important role of the European Union in these state-building and economic reconstruction missions. It should be emphasized that this practice has most notably been applied in the Western Balkans, though it is not limited only to this region. Thus, one of the main cases to be examined here is the EU role in Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter “Bosnia” or “BaH”), in particular the role of high representative (“HR”) or EU special representative (“EUSR”) in Bosnia. The ultimate purpose of this article is to analyze several important aspects of the role and mandate of the high representative or EU special representative in the process of international state-building in Bosnia. The article will first address in short the EU role in Bosnia from the Dayton Peace Accords to the present, in order to have a clear view that would enable further analysis. Secondly, it will discuss in more detail the mandate of the High Representative in Bosnia. Then, it will move onto analyzing how HR applied his powers and mandate in building-up a new State’s institutions. This part will also assess various decisions taken by the HR and their consequences in the process of state-building. Finally, the last part of the article will highlight if Bosnia through all this process has escaped or is trying to escape the weak and failed State paradigm.

A Regional-Based Approach Towards Economic Development in the Western Balkans

Qerimi, Qerim R. and Sergi, Bruno S.

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development (2008)

This paper deals with economic development in the Western Balkans, the effect of the European Union (EU) and its likely entrepreneurial sustainability. An 'EU Factor' has been introduced, as it indicates that further EU enlargement could have a positive significant impact on business and economic expectations of international investors. The acquis communautaire is analysed together with a regional dimension of stability. Some common fundamental issues, such as regional cooperation as a means for promoting reconciliation and growth and development of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as a means for economic growth and sustainable development, are addressed.

Keywords: regional development, The Balkans, EU factor, EU enlargement, European Union, economic development, entrepreneurial sustainability, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, regional cooperation, small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs.

To Build a State: Europeanization, EU Actorness and State-Building in Kosovo

Greiçevci, Labinot, Papadimitriou, Dimitris; Petrov, Petar;

European Foreign Affairs Review (2007)

For full articles, please refer to the respective journals.