Kosovo: The Path to Contested Statehood in the Balkans

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Was this the final chapter in the break-up of Yugoslavia and the successful conclusion to the Balkan Wars of the 1990s Or was it just one more wrong turn in the path to stability in the Balkans which has set a dangerous precedent for regional conflict throughout the world When the UN Security Council authorised negotiations to determine the final status of Kosovo in October 2005, most observers confidently expected the Serbian province to become an independent state by the end of the following year. However, the process did not go as planned. James Ker-Lindsay here charts the course of the status process from 2005 to the present and analyses how and why it went so very wrong. This clear and perceptive account will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the recent history of the Balkans or in international conflict resolution.

Reviews

'A most impressive work. The argument and analysis are first-class. For those who want to understand how the West, and the UK/US in particular, got into this latest painful Balkan mess, this book provides an indispensable vade mecum.' - Sir Ivor Roberts, President of Trinity College, Oxford and former British Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; 'This excellent book, appearing so soon after some of the events it describes occurred, is the first history of the mess surrounding the international handling of Kosovo, and it will remain a reference point. It shows genuine understanding of all perspectives, while not shying from the realities that things might have been otherwise - a point the author makes with acute judgement. It is a welcome and essential addition to the literature on Yugoslavia's breakup.' - James Gow, Professor of International Peace and Security, Department of War Studies, King's College London; 'A concise and very timely blow-by-blow account of the Kosovo Status talks. It also chronicles the missed opportunities for international diplomacy and Serbia and Kosovo in finding a consensual resolution to this long-standing conflict.' - Florian Bieber, Professor of Southeast European Studies, University of Graz

Author Bio

James Ker-Lindsay is Eurobank EFG Senior Research Fellow on the Politics of South East Europe at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. His previous books include Crisis and Conciliation: A Year of Rapprochement between Greece and Turkey (I.B.Tauris), An Island in Europe: The EU and the Transformation of Cyprus (co-edited with Hubert Faustmann and Fiona Mullen, I.B.Tauris), EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus, and New Perspectives on Yugoslavia: Key Issues and Controversies (co-edited with Dejan Djokic).