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DAVID vs. Goliath : NATO war against Yugoslavia and its implications Cover Image

DAVID vs. Goliath : NATO war against Yugoslavia and its implications
DAVID vs. Goliath : NATO war against Yugoslavia and its implications

Author(s): Nebojša Vuković
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics
Published by: Институт за међународну политику и привреду
Keywords: Geopolitics; Southeast Europe; Yugoslavia (SR); NATO aggression - 1999; NATO; Yugoslavia
Summary/Abstract: The NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 is one of the most tragic episodes in the modern history of the Serbian people. In military terms, this conflict was almost absurd: the largest military coalition in history attacked a small and isolated country with a genuine threat to destroy it utterly. From the political and cultural point of view, this conflict brought to Serbia besides terrible destruction and numerous victims, a profound disappointment because the war was initiated by its former allies from the two great world wars. During the 20th century, in the First Balkan War and the First and Second World War, Serbia mainly fought against far superior enemies (the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Imperial Germany and later Nazi Germany) but always with a strong motive of freedom in the foreground. Serbia emerged as a winner and part of the winning alliances from all these conflicts. In so far, the military attack of the nineteen NATO member states on Serbia, i.e., the former FR Yugoslavia (the remaining federation of Serbia and Montenegro after the dissolution of the “Great Yugoslavia”), conducted by an alliance of some major allies from the previous wars (France, United Kingdom, USA), represented an enormous civilizational shock to the Serbian people. It was hard to comprehend and accept the ideological, political and “humanitarian” reasons declared by the Western allies as justification for their warfare. From this perspective, it can be stated that the fallen members of the Yugoslav Army and the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia demonstrated heroism and courage equal to those of their ancestors who fought in the previous wars for freedom and honor of the homeland. On the occasion of two decades of this, for many reasons, a unique war in military history, the Faculty of Security Studies of the University of Belgrade and the Institute of International Politics and Economics from Belgrade decided to publish the international thematic collection of scientific papers.

  • Print-ISBN-13: 978-86-7067-261-1
  • Page Count: 481
  • Publication Year: 2019
  • Language: English
A LETTER FROM BEIJING: HOW CHINA HAS EXPERIENCED THE 1999 BOMBING OF FR YUGOSLAVIA

A LETTER FROM BEIJING: HOW CHINA HAS EXPERIENCED THE 1999 BOMBING OF FR YUGOSLAVIA
(A LETTER FROM BEIJING: HOW CHINA HAS EXPERIENCED THE 1999 BOMBING OF FR YUGOSLAVIA)

  • Author(s):Liu Zuokui
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:13-16
  • No. of Pages:4
  • Keywords:China; NATO; Yugoslavia
THE NATO BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA (1999) 20 YEARS LATER – THE PROBLEMS OF LEGALITY, LEGITIMACY AND CONSEQUENCES

THE NATO BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA (1999) 20 YEARS LATER – THE PROBLEMS OF LEGALITY, LEGITIMACY AND CONSEQUENCES
(THE NATO BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA (1999) 20 YEARS LATER – THE PROBLEMS OF LEGALITY, LEGITIMACY AND CONSEQUENCES)

  • Author(s):Boris Krivokapić
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:19-56
  • No. of Pages:38
  • Keywords:NATO intervention; legality; aggression; international law; legitimity
  • Summary/Abstract:Even during the NATO war against Yugoslavia (1999), the author of these lines pointed to its illegality. This was done in several contributions on the web page of the Yugoslav Internet Society. After that, I analyzed various aspects related to aggression in a book published in the same year, and then in a series of articles in scientific journals and collections of papers. For this reason, the main problem in writing this paper was how to objectively analyze and check evaluations and qualifications given in previous texts in the light of new knowledge. Another important question was whether it is necessary to ensureabsolute originality of the paper by writing about something we have never dealt with before or it is better to reconsider the most significant problems, although we have already covered some of them in our previous works. I decided for one type of compromise. That is, to return to the most important topics even if they are not brand new for us, but to try to do so from a new angle. Having in mind a considerable passage of time, finding new facts, the current state of international law and international relations, the role of the UN and NATO in the modern world, etc. the question arises as to whether the assessments and qualifications I made in the previous papers were correct. In other words, has something changed in the meantime, casting a significantly different light on the whole problem? Looking closer, putting things in the wider context and analyzing them from various angles, I will try to answer four basic questions: 1. Has anything changed in terms of the illegality of the NATO intervention - is there any reason to claim that it was still legal? 2. Could the intervention be if it is not lawful, then justified (legitimate)? 3. Was the armed action carried out in accordance with the rules of the law of armed conflict (did NATO commit war crimes?)? 4. What has NATO aggression brought (what are its consequences)?
THE NATO WAR OF 1999 AND THE IMPOTENCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

THE NATO WAR OF 1999 AND THE IMPOTENCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
(THE NATO WAR OF 1999 AND THE IMPOTENCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW)

  • Author(s):Hans Köchler
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:57-71
  • No. of Pages:15
  • Keywords:use of force; collective security; international rule of law; humanitarian intervention; power politics; United Nations; Security Council
  • Summary/Abstract:The unilateral use of force by NATO member states against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 has made obvious the flaws of the United Nations system of collective security and has demonstrated the unenforceability of the ban on the use of force in contemporary international law. The concept of “humanitarian intervention” has been proven to be legally invalid, essentially serving as an ideological tool to justify acts for which it is impossible to obtain the Security Council authorization. The dysfunctionality of the Council in the Yugoslavia/Kosovo conflict was further aggravated by a systemic flaw in the UN Charter, namely the provisions of Article 27(3) allowing a permanent member to act as judex in causa sua/ “judge in his own cause,” and to block any collective enforcement action against its own acts of aggression. In terms of international criminal law, the NATO war of 1999 has further exposed the problems of judicial procedures based on Chapter VII resolutions of the Security Council. The (legally invalid) creation of an ad hoc court by virtue of a coercive measure of the Council has meant the politicization of proceedings and a practice of double standards, effectively determined by the most powerful states in the Council at the time. No investigation was ever opened over the war crimes committed by NATO forces in the course of the 1999 war (over which the Yugoslavia Tribunal of the Security Council clearly had jurisdiction). In regard to (state) accountability for acts of aggression as well as (personal) responsibility for the commission of international crimes, the lesson from the NATO war of 1999 is twofold: (a) that international law under the UN system of collective security is impotent, and (b) a unipolar power constellation frequently invites acts of self-help and encourages a policy of faits accomplis. This can only be challenged if a credible balance of power emerges at the global level.
THE CASE CONCERNING LEGALITY OF USE OF FORCE BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE - 20 YEARS AFTER THE NATO INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA

THE CASE CONCERNING LEGALITY OF USE OF FORCE BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE - 20 YEARS AFTER THE NATO INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA
(THE CASE CONCERNING LEGALITY OF USE OF FORCE BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE - 20 YEARS AFTER THE NATO INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA)

  • Author(s):Duško Dimitrijević
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:72-96
  • No. of Pages:25
  • Keywords:Yugoslavia; Serbia and Montenegro; UN; Security Council; NATO’s unilateral intervention; legality of use of force dispute; ICJ; international law
  • Summary/Abstract:The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia filed on 29 April 1999 Applications before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against ten NATO member States: the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal and Spain. These Applications required the determination of the responsibility of these States for the wrongful acts committed during the armed intervention in connection with violations of the principle of the prohibition of the use of force against sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of States (crimes against peace), then violations of the rules and principles of war and humanitarian law (war crimes), and obligations established by the Genocide Convention (crimes against humanity and international law). In the following study, the legal arguments of the parties presented in the proceedings were analyzed. Also, the study provides an analysis of the legal bases offered for the establishment of the ICJ jurisdiction, as well as the decisions made by the ICJ on that occasion with which it declared the lack of its jurisdiction. However, irrespective of this fact and circumstances that it had not decided on the merits of the dispute, the ICJ did not exclude the responsibility of the NATO member States for violating the general international law. In that sense, its conclusion is consistent because it confirms the rule that the States have remained “in all cases responsible for acts attributable to them that violate the rights of other State”. Therefore, the re-examination of the case concerning legality of use of force before the ICJ twenty years after the armed attack on Yugoslavia is in line with the efforts of the Republic of Serbia (as the legal successor of the SFR Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and State Union of Serbia and Montenegro) to resolve all outstanding issues from the past, which is a prerequisite for building a new and more peaceful world.
SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT IN AGGRESSION ON THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991

SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT IN AGGRESSION ON THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991
(SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT IN AGGRESSION ON THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991)

  • Author(s):Vladan Jončić, Miloš Jončić
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:97-120
  • No. of Pages:24
  • Keywords:aggression; NATO; violations of international law; violation of international law of armed conflicts; war crimes; crime against peace
  • Summary/Abstract:The NATO Pact’s aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999 is a school example of serious violations of all relevant norms of international law. This article indicates important violations of the international law of armed conflicts that were carried out by the NATO Pact during aggression. A significant number of the ius cogens norms has been violated. Especially, NATO forces use prohibited methods during executions of war operations. NATO forces committ war crimes during air attacks. Besides this, NATO committed a crime against peace and a crime against humanity. The rules of protection of civilians and civilian objects guaranteed by the 1949 Geneva Conventions (the Fourth Geneva Convention) and almost all rules of the international law of armed conflicts guaranteed by international conventions and customary international law were grossly violated during this agression. First of all, protection of journalists, women, children, civilian objects, objects of which depends the survival of the civilian population, facilities that international law guarantees protection, etc., have been grossly violated. Hospitals and hospital transport were attacked. A number of human rights rules have been violated, such as the right to life, the right to free development and the management of natural resources, freedom of movement, the children’s rights, etc. The use of weapons with depleted uranium and the bombardment of civilian objects which contain dangerous forces has caused the effect of using chemical weapons (Pancevo Refinery, etc.). This has led to the endangering of human rights of the third generation, such as the right to a healthy environment. The huge destruction of the infrastructure made enormous material damage. The consequences of aggression and all this violations of international humanitarian law are still unimaginable and the question is whether they will ever been.
THE GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE 1999 NATO AGGRESSION AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

THE GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE 1999 NATO AGGRESSION AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA
(THE GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE 1999 NATO AGGRESSION AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA)

  • Author(s):Alexis Troude
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:123-136
  • No. of Pages:14
  • Keywords:Resources; boundaries; instability; the Balkans; New World Order
  • Summary/Abstract:The author deals with the problem of geopolitical motivation of the NATO aggression against the FR Yugoslavia in 1999. In this respect, it is emphasized that behind the military intervention of the Western Alliance are the geoeconomic (mining wealth of Kosovo), transportation, energy and military-strategic interests of the United States and its allies. The author analyzes current and future projects for the construction of transport and energy infrastructure in the Balkans, as well as the geopolitical combinations and rivalries developing around the realization of these projects. The second part deals with the consequences of this intervention reflected in the rise of Islamic radicalism in the region, organized crime in Kosovo and general instability in the Balkans. The author particularly discusses the current situation in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the unstable political circumstances in these areas, as well as the expansion of the EU and NATO in the Balkans.
THE CAUSES OF THE NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FR YUGOSLAVIA

THE CAUSES OF THE NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FR YUGOSLAVIA
(THE CAUSES OF THE NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FR YUGOSLAVIA)

  • Author(s):Dušan N. Proroković, Branko Krga
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:137-154
  • No. of Pages:18
  • Keywords:NATO; Kosovo crisis; Yugoslavia; Serbia; USA; UN; geopolitics
  • Summary/Abstract:Despite the often quoted allegations that the intervention was provoked by the bloodshed and ethnic cleansing of thousands of Albanians driving them into exile in neighboring countries, and the potential of this situation to destabilize the region, the authors of this article tried to analyze the geopolitical and foreign policy indicators to identify the real causes of the NATO aggression on the FR Yugoslavia. The work consists of four parts. The first part is devoted to the development of the Kosovo crisis and the possibility of its solution during 1998-1999. The second part describes the facts that have preceded the decision of the NATO Council to intervene. The reasons for the decision to bomb Yugoslavia are analyzed in the third section. The fourth part is dedicated to the final considerations. In this article, the authors come to the conclusion that NATO had seven reasons to start a campaign in the spring 1999: first, to save its own credibility and celebrate fifty years of its existence; second, to accelerate the overthrow of Milosevic from power and put the entire post-Yugoslav space under the umbrella of NATO; third, the geopolitical reasons - to oust Russian influence; fourth, to bypass the UN and minimize the role of this international organization in world politics; fifth, to correct the mistakes made after the Second World War; sixth, the interests of the American military-industrial complex; and seventh - to improve the image of the United States in the Islamic world.
NATO ROAD TO SERBIA: WHY 1999?

NATO ROAD TO SERBIA: WHY 1999?
(NATO ROAD TO SERBIA: WHY 1999?)

  • Author(s):Slobodan Janković
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:155-176
  • No. of Pages:22
  • Keywords:Serbia; NATO; Europe; U.S.; Kosovo
  • Summary/Abstract:How NATO found its new raison d’être after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in the Yugoslav crisis? Why Serbia and the Serbs were designated as bad guys? How the initial NATO and USA policy determined the sides in the war, and how it affected the U.S. policy in Europe are the questions raised and answered in this article. The author starts with the historical introduction of the Yugoslav crisis and wars in the territory of the dissolved nation. He presents the main differing views on these processes among scholars and explains how their attachment to governmental policies affects their portrayal of events. Afterward, the author examines the European and global context in which the crisis and the subsequent aggression of the NATO Alliance on a small Balkan state occurred. Different interests in Berlin, Washington, London and the Vatican led to common action against a pariah state of the 1990s. What prevailed is the Anglo Saxon influence in the Balkans and in the EU.
NATO INTERVENTION IN THE LIGHT OF THE SERBIAN-ALBANIAN WAR OVER KOSOVO

NATO INTERVENTION IN THE LIGHT OF THE SERBIAN-ALBANIAN WAR OVER KOSOVO
(NATO INTERVENTION IN THE LIGHT OF THE SERBIAN-ALBANIAN WAR OVER KOSOVO)

  • Author(s):Danuta Gibas-Krzak
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:177-189
  • No. of Pages:13
  • Keywords:Kosovo; military operation; ethnic conflict; Kosovo Liberation Army; NATO intervention
  • Summary/Abstract:The author of this paper will present the circumstances of the NATO attack on Yugoslavia in 1999. The main goal of this address will be to show historical conditions of the Serbian-Albanian conflict over Kosovo, which led to the escalation of violence in this Serbian province. Moreover, the proofs will be shown that information about ethnic cleansing allegedly perpetrated by the Serbs in Kosovo were fabricated and they were the main cause of a decision made by NATO about the attack. NATO intervention was described in the subject literature in the West as a military operation and the “first war in history for the rights of man”. The author of this paper shall present an analysis exposing this thesis, showing the terrorist character of the actions of the Kosovo Liberation Army and presenting the participation of “big players” in the Serbian-Albanian conflict who fight for their influences in the Balkans.
ANALYSING THE DEBATES AT THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT DURING THE KOSOVO CONFLICT (1998-1999): IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND IDENTITY

ANALYSING THE DEBATES AT THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT DURING THE KOSOVO CONFLICT (1998-1999): IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND IDENTITY
(ANALYSING THE DEBATES AT THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT DURING THE KOSOVO CONFLICT (1998-1999): IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND IDENTITY)

  • Author(s):Birgül Demirtaş
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Politics and Identity
  • Page Range:190-204
  • No. of Pages:15
  • Keywords:Turkey; Yugoslavia; Serbia; Kosovo; Turkish minority; NATO; West
  • Summary/Abstract:The Turkish foreign policy towards the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia was carried out in cooperation with its Western allies. However, as different from its policy during the Bosnian War, Turkey assumed a more careful attitude with regard to the Kosovo issue. During the Kosovo War, Turkey did not undertake any guardianship role for the Kosovo Albanians to the extent that it had done for the Bosniaks during the Bosnian War. Different dynamics had an impact on Turkey’s Kosovo policy, its internal problems, the Cyprus issue, Balkan diaspora in Turkey and the presence of the Turkish minority in Kosovo. The presentation will provide an analytical overview of Turkey’s approach towards Kosovo based on the proceedings of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. During that period Turkey was mostly governed by coalition governments. How the governing parties and opposition parties reacted to events in Kosovo during the parliamentary sessions will be analysed through conceptual frameworks. The perceived Ottoman history, the existence of “relative communities” and the Turkish minority, and the fear of the spread of the Kosovo issue to neighbouring countries became important factors affecting the construction of the Turkish foreign policy. The presentation will examine the proceedings of the Parliament in 1998-1999 focusing on concepts like “Ottoman legacy”, “identity”, “interest”. It will analyse how Turkey’s commitments to the Western alliance, how its identity construction as a regional power and how its political, economic and cultural interests became effective in the formulation of Turkey’s attitude towards the conflict in Kosovo.
FINDING ITSELF: AMERICA, RUSSIA, SERBIA IN A CHANGING WORLD

FINDING ITSELF: AMERICA, RUSSIA, SERBIA IN A CHANGING WORLD
(FINDING ITSELF: AMERICA, RUSSIA, SERBIA IN A CHANGING WORLD)

  • Author(s):Leonid N. Dobrokhotov
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:207-224
  • No. of Pages:18
  • Keywords:Russia; USA; New world order; NATO; sovereignty; Serbia
  • Summary/Abstract:In his paper, the author describes and explains the circumstances in international relations which enabled the United States and its allies to execute aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The paper also analyses the US foreign policy characterised by the tendency for domination, as well as the United States’ attitude towards the Russian Federation. The author concludes that in the West, therefore in the United States, Russophobia is deeply rooted. This notion and attitude have been guiding the US administrations over a long period of time. Special attention is focused on Donald Tramp becoming the head of the United States, as well as on the missed opportunities for improvement of the overall US-Russian relations. The author believes the world power relations are changing significantly in favor of the creation of a multipolar order. Therefore, the United States is no longer the dominant force as it used to be, for example, during the aggression on the FRY. The paper assesses that the current problems in American society arise from inevitable political and economic contradictions which are a permanent characteristic of capitalism.
THE 1999 NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN AND THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA

THE 1999 NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN AND THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA
(THE 1999 NATO BOMBING CAMPAIGN AND THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA)

  • Author(s):Beatriz Bissio
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:225-235
  • No. of Pages:11
  • Keywords:Kosovo; United Nations; sovereignty; NATO; China-Russia strategic alliance; military cooperation
  • Summary/Abstract:In the 21st century, the formation of a multipolar world is apparent, with Russia and China as key players.The cooperation between Russia and China has been strengthening year by year: bilateral trade in the expansion, major agreements signed in the strategic areas of energy and security, joint military exercises. One turning point was the joint declaration “World Order in the 21st Century”, signed in Moscow in July 2005, during the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The cited declaration warned of Moscow and Beijing rejection at any attempt of intervention by “foreign forces” in their regions and opposed any endeavor to impose “political and social models of development” coming from outside. It is not difficult to see that, besides defining a new level of the relations between China and Russia, the intention was to respond to the US-led interventions which started with the 1999 NATO bombing campaignin the former Yugoslavia and increased after the 9/11 attack in 2001. The chapter will analyze the intensification of cooperation between China and Russia, in particular, and the role of the two countries in the promotion of other initiatives – like BRICS, the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), also known as the New Silk Road; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), called the “NATO of the East” in Western media outlets, etc. – in the context of a geopolitical reply to the 1999 military campaign and its consequences for global security.
THE BANALITY OF POWER AND THE IDEOLOGY OF UNIVERSALISM (REASONS FOR, EFFECTS OF AND LESSONS DRAWN FROM NATO ASSAULT ON SERBIA IN 1999)

THE BANALITY OF POWER AND THE IDEOLOGY OF UNIVERSALISM (REASONS FOR, EFFECTS OF AND LESSONS DRAWN FROM NATO ASSAULT ON SERBIA IN 1999)
(THE BANALITY OF POWER AND THE IDEOLOGY OF UNIVERSALISM (REASONS FOR, EFFECTS OF AND LESSONS DRAWN FROM NATO ASSAULT ON SERBIA IN 1999))

  • Author(s):Vladimir N. Cvetković
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:237-250
  • No. of Pages:14
  • Keywords:Serbia; NATO; ideology; international politics
  • Summary/Abstract:NATO’s political and - above all – military participation in secessionmotivated conflicts in the former Yugoslavia (1990-1995), will be remembered as a clear example of demonstration of power, intentions and (in)capability of the victor in a decades-long global “cold war“ between the “freedom-loving” West and “totalitarian East”. Regardless of the expectations of liberal theoreticians and the majority of public opinion, it was soon revealed that the victory was not the “triumph of freedom” and even less “the end of history”. On the contrary, as historically typical, it was only an unstable resultant of relations between the major actors in the modern global theater, who strive to legitimize their need for domination with varying success and vocabulary. Hence, the lessons to be learned from the final act of destruction of Yugoslavia (several months of the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999) have the expected tone of banality: absolute might strives for absolute power (which remains unattainable in principle); “the mighty oppress” is true always and in any place (but with a time limit); and, finally, what everyone knows but does not (or is unable or refuses) say aloud: the only true alternative to military threat and/or aggression of a single political actor is an equally valid (military) threat/aggression by another one. We are tempted to conclude that, despite the ideological ardor of NGO activists, the political correctness of theoreticians and the rhetorical figures of speech of politicians, the “banalities” remain valid as the only certainties, i.e., regularities in the unpredictable currents of relations between states.
UNPEGGING THE THIRD SPHERE OF THE WORLD ORDER: INDIA AND YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990S

UNPEGGING THE THIRD SPHERE OF THE WORLD ORDER: INDIA AND YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990S
(UNPEGGING THE THIRD SPHERE OF THE WORLD ORDER: INDIA AND YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990S)

  • Author(s):Ramachandra Byrappa
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:251-263
  • No. of Pages:13
  • Keywords:Third Sphere; Non-Alignment; Eurasia; India; Yugoslavia; Southernization; Westernization
  • Summary/Abstract:The ripples of NATO’s attack on the Former Republic of Yugoslavia reached India with devastation. It was a tectonic moment of realisation that India has to move out of the comfort zone of false illusions and face the hard realities of the new shifts in international dynamics and alignments. The NATO’s bombing of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia came as the third and a consequential blow to India, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the financial crisis of the early 1990s. These three blows shattered the three-level architecture that India had crafted over the preceding 50 years. My main question is: Was the United States of America and its allies punishing India and Yugoslavia because of their perceived proximity with post-Soviet Russia or was it for reasons of a systemic nature? My major hypothesis is that NATO’s aggression should be put into a systemic context and understood in the longue durée, in terms of structural domination and the control of the world’s resources.
NEW BALANCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: DEVELOPMENT OF BRICS ALLIANCE

NEW BALANCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: DEVELOPMENT OF BRICS ALLIANCE
(NEW BALANCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: DEVELOPMENT OF BRICS ALLIANCE)

  • Author(s):Aleksandar Jazić
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, International Law, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:264-276
  • No. of Pages:13
  • Keywords:The end of the Cold War; unipolarity; globalization; intervention; Yugoslavia; United Nations; BRICS
  • Summary/Abstract:The end of the Cold War marked the beginning of a new era in which the future seemed certain. The Western powers won, the Eastern Bloc collapsed and unipolarity was created. The process of globalization started, and it seemed that the supremacy of the West was guaranteed. However, the globalization created new opportunities for old powers and for those in the ascent. In the meantime, a moment of total dominance of one superpower happened in the form of the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was conducted without a decision of the United Nations Security Council. This event has demonstrated all the dangers of a unipolar order in international relations and contempt of international law. New technologies and forms of communications created conditions for new forms of cooperation and alliance between countries. It was used by Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa to establish the BRICS alliance and begin the process of establishing a new balance in international relations. This Alliance is based on economic cooperation, but the issue of security gets more and more relevant in mutual relations. Currently, BRICS accounts for almost onequarter of global GDP, which is a key precondition for strong positioning in international relations. Development of BRICS cooperation is on the way to create a counterweight in today’s world. Thus, international law can regain its strength and be respected as a basic tool for conflict solution. The United Nations could again become the most important place for dialogue and keeping stability in the world.
CONSEQUENCES OF NATO’S KOSOVO WAR ON RUSSIA’S POLICY

CONSEQUENCES OF NATO’S KOSOVO WAR ON RUSSIA’S POLICY
(CONSEQUENCES OF NATO’S KOSOVO WAR ON RUSSIA’S POLICY)

  • Author(s):Aleksandar Saša Gajić
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Geopolitics
  • Page Range:277-291
  • No. of Pages:15
  • Keywords:Russia; NATO; Kosovo and Metohija; international law; asymmetric war; geopolitics
  • Summary/Abstract:NATO’s aggression on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is widely considered as a turning point in Russia-NATO relations. This paper gives comprehensive reconsideration about the consequences of NATO’s military intervention in Kosovo on Russia’s policy in all of its aspects. In its first part, the research is turned to Russia’s political position and diplomatic actions before, during and after the conflict in both bilateral and multilateral formats. The second part of the paper observes legal, political, geopolitical and military lessons that Russia took from NATO’s aggression on Yugoslavia that has influenced its foreign policy, including the positions towards Balkan and Serbia. In conclusion, it is noticeable that Russia remained firm in its principledness that NATO intervention in 1999 was an act of aggression against a sovereign state completely against international law and order, and that Kosovo self-proclaimed independence is totally illegal. Therefore, Moscow continues insisting that political resolution of Serbia’s problem with its southern province must be reached within the sphere of international law, in mutual agreement that will bring along-term feasible solution.
THE POST-YUGOSLAV BALKANS IN THE IDEOLOGICAL WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO

THE POST-YUGOSLAV BALKANS IN THE IDEOLOGICAL WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO
(THE POST-YUGOSLAV BALKANS IN THE IDEOLOGICAL WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO)

  • Author(s):Darina Grigorova
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Politics and Identity, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:292-303
  • No. of Pages:12
  • Keywords:‘Russkiy mir’; Pan-Slavism; Pan-Russism; Eurasianism; Neo-Ottomanism; Western Balkans; Orthodoxy; Gender Ideology
  • Summary/Abstract:The paper is focused on the ideological frame of Russian Post-Soviet Foreign Policy in the Balkans. Is there any Russian soft power? In a short introduction, the main ideological and geopolitical tendencies in the presentday Balkans are outlined. In the first part of the paper, we describe the geopolitical reality of the Balkans today and Russian positions in it. In the second and the third part of the paper, we analyze the content and the transformation of the Russian idea/concept ‘Russkiy mir’ and geopolitical, ideological and spiritual consequences of that transformation. The fourth part of the paper describes the current state of relations between NATO and Serbia 20 years after the bombing of the FR Yugoslavia in the context of the geopolitical competition of old and new factors in world politics. The conclusion highlights the main geopolitical and spiritual challenges of some Balkan Orthodox peoples and the possible role of Russia in the Balkans.
MEDIA WAR: “ARTILLERY SUPPORT” FOR NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FRY 1999

MEDIA WAR: “ARTILLERY SUPPORT” FOR NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FRY 1999
(MEDIA WAR: “ARTILLERY SUPPORT” FOR NATO AGGRESSION ON THE FRY 1999)

  • Author(s):Nenad PERIĆ
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:350-364
  • No. of Pages:15
  • Keywords:media; war; FRY; NATO; Kosovo; politics
  • Summary/Abstract:This paper deals with a wide range of media and communication actions performed during the 1990s, directed against the Serbian nation. It analyses media matrix which was very perfidiously designed and implemented in order to blame one (Serbian) side for the breakup of the SFRY and ultimately for the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija, while other sides would be presented as victims. Such media activity culminated at the end of the decade, just before, during and after the bombing of the FRY. The situation was presented to the world public in an untrue and extremely malicious way in order to justify universal aggression on a sovereign country and its collapse. The paper also analyses the unpreparedness of the state and the system at that time for the media war, which can greatly and sometimes decisively affect the outcome or the initiation of military actions, and provides suggestions for the prevention of similar situations.
FROM BELGRADE TO BENGHAZI: WASHINGTON’S DESCENT INTO PERPETUAL GLOBAL WAR, 1999-2019

FROM BELGRADE TO BENGHAZI: WASHINGTON’S DESCENT INTO PERPETUAL GLOBAL WAR, 1999-2019
(FROM BELGRADE TO BENGHAZI: WASHINGTON’S DESCENT INTO PERPETUAL GLOBAL WAR, 1999-2019)

  • Author(s):Gordon N. Bardos
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:307-326
  • No. of Pages:20
  • Keywords:USA; interventions; global war; Libya; Kosovo
  • Summary/Abstract:Since the Kosovo War in 1999, the United States has been at war for nineteen of the subsequent twenty years, a condition many scholars and commentators have called “permanent war” or “perpetual war.” Two historical moments contributed to the emergence of this condition; first, the end of the Cold War, and the resulting “end of history” triumphalism in many Western capitals, and second, the 9/11 attacks. Together, these developments have fostered the unprecedented growth of an immense infrastructure created for the purpose of carrying out perpetual global war, the primary examples of which have been the Kosovo Conflict in 1999, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the attack on Libya in 2011, and the ever-increasing tensions with Russia over the past decade.
NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONCEPT: TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE BOMBING OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONCEPT: TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE BOMBING OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
(NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONCEPT: TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE BOMBING OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA)

  • Author(s):Miroslav Glišić, Dejan Stojković, Ivona Lađevac
  • Language:Serbian
  • Subject(s):Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:327-349
  • No. of Pages:23
  • Keywords:NATO; Crisis Management; Strategic Concept; NATO aggression on the FRY; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Afghanistan; Libya
  • Summary/Abstract:This paper examines NATO’s engagement during the bombing of the Federal Republic Yugoslavia and its impact on further development of crisis management defined by the Strategic Concept and other relevant documents. The authors have tried to provide the answers to the questions regarding the NATO’s procedures, effectiveness and efficiency during the operation MERCIFUL ANGEL (Operation Allied Force) and their implications for further development of the crisis management concept throughout adoption of the Strategic Concepts in 1999 and 2010 and relevant doctrines, as well as throughout building the Allied related capabilities. Planning, preparation and conducting all the NATO’s crisis management operations after 1999 were based on lessons learned from the operation MERCIFUL ANGEL and the previous NATO’s engagement in the former Yugoslavia. Taking the abovementioned into consideration, this paper seeks to find out how NATO’s military coercive activities in the former Yugoslavia, including aggression on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, has affected its engagement in Afghanistan and Libya, as well as on the crisis management concept as a whole. The research methodology is based on four case studies (NATO interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya) in order to scrutinize common trends in the crisis management operations conducted by the Alliance in these countries and its significance for further development of the crisis management concept.
PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATION IN LOWINTENSITY CONFLICT – CASE STUDY KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATION IN LOWINTENSITY CONFLICT – CASE STUDY KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
(PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATION IN LOWINTENSITY CONFLICT – CASE STUDY KOSOVO AND METOHIJA)

  • Author(s):Veljko Blagojevic
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:365-384
  • No. of Pages:20
  • Keywords:Kosovo and Metohija; Low-Intensity Conflict; Psychological Operation; Operation Allied Force
  • Summary/Abstract:This paper deals with western countries, led by the United States, psychological operations against Serbia’s political leadership and security and defense forces during the Kosovo crisis 1998-1999. Shortly after the end of war in Bosnia, the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija (K&M) escalated from the potential to a real and imminent threat to the national security of the SFRY. The Kosovo Albanians organized paramilitary formations the Kosovo Liberation Army – KLA (Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës or UÇK) on a territorial basis, and intensified attacks on Serbia’s security forces and institutions. The situation in the region became “ideal” for applying the US concept of Low-Intensity Conflict. The basic aim of this paper is to analyze key elements of the psychological operations of the Western allies against Serbia/FRY in conditions of low-intensity conflicts in K&M. First, the paper will analyze US/NATO doctrinal documents of Low-Intensity Conflict and Psychological Operation that were in power at that time, representing the focus of engaging all national resources, from (public) diplomacy and the media through economic and political sanctions to security and defense measures, aimed at changing the behavior of the subject of international relations to which it was applied. Then, the focus will shift on the implementation of those doctrines in the Kosovo crisis. The paper will be divided into two phases, the Kosovo Albanians rebel in 1998/99 and the Operation Allied Force in 1999. Twenty years’ distance from those events gives us a very good historical perspective for an objective political analysis of Serbian and Western leadership of that time, the outcomes of the crisis and repercussions on the key national interests of Serbia.
CLASSICAL THEORIES OF AIRPOWER AND THE NATO WAR AGAINST THE FR YUGOSLAVIA IN 19991

CLASSICAL THEORIES OF AIRPOWER AND THE NATO WAR AGAINST THE FR YUGOSLAVIA IN 19991
(CLASSICAL THEORIES OF AIRPOWER AND THE NATO WAR AGAINST THE FR YUGOSLAVIA IN 19991)

  • Author(s):Nebojša Vuković, Branislav Đorđević
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:385-399
  • No. of Pages:15
  • Keywords:air power; war; NATO; Yugoslavia; strategy
  • Summary/Abstract:The first part of the paper describes and explains the classical theories of airpower which occurred during the period between the two world wars. The main hypothesis of the paper is that the NATO war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia represented the actualization of the key assumptions of these theories and the predictions of their authors. The auxiliary hypotheses are contained in the view that NATO achieved its goals in the war primarily with a strategic bombing – destruction of infrastructure, electricity network and industrial potential. The FR Yugoslavia represented an ideal target for the conduct of the air warfare because due to its relative development, it was highly dependent on this infrastructure, networks and potentials, while on the other hand, it did not possess the capacity to defend itself from the NATO air strikes. One of the hypotheses of the paper is that the 1999 war has confirmed the convictions of the authors of the classical theories of airpower stating that the land forces are less relevant in modern armed conflicts involving technologically advanced nations. Finally, the paper also states that recourse to air warfare is only possible under certain (specific) conditions - complete isolation of the targeted country, its inadequate air defence system capacity, vulnerability to a significant degree of damage to its infrastructure.
NATO: ESSENTIAL OR OBSOLETE?

NATO: ESSENTIAL OR OBSOLETE?
(NATO: ESSENTIAL OR OBSOLETE?)

  • Author(s):Richard Sakwa
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:403-416
  • No. of Pages:14
  • Keywords:NATO; European Union; cold peace; monism; conjugation; Greater Eurasia Partnership
  • Summary/Abstract:During his presidential campaign in 2016 Donald J. Trump argued that NATO was ‘obsolete’. Once elected president, Trump retreated and accepted that the alliance is here to stay, but as became clear at the Brussels Summit in July 2018, he adopted a much more transactional view of the alliance. This paper will put recent debates on the future of NATO in the context of the Second Cold War. What is the purpose of maintaining a security alliance in an era when the circumstances that prompted its creation have changed so dramatically? Does the Atlantic power system come into contradiction with the aspirations of the end of the Cold War creating a ‘common European home’ and a ‘Europe whole and free’? More disturbingly, does the very continued existence of NATO create security dilemmas that justify its existence? The nature and purpose of the Atlantic Alliance will be examined, reviewing its development since 1989 and the consequences of its actions. The persistence of an anachronistic institutional and ideational security order in Europe contributes to the emergence of an anti-hegemonic alignment at the global level, where Russia, China and other partners are gradually creating an alternative global architecture intended not so much to challenge the historical West as to create a non-hierarchical and pluralist post-western alternative order.
MOLDOVA’S EXPERIENCE WITH NATO: AN EXAMPLE OF NEUTRALITY POLICY

MOLDOVA’S EXPERIENCE WITH NATO: AN EXAMPLE OF NEUTRALITY POLICY
(MOLDOVA’S EXPERIENCE WITH NATO: AN EXAMPLE OF NEUTRALITY POLICY)

  • Author(s):Valeriu Moşneaga, Tatiana Turco, George Mosneaga
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Page Range:417-439
  • No. of Pages:23
  • Keywords:Moldova; NATO; specificity of relations; neutrality; collaboration in non-warfare related fields
  • Summary/Abstract:The following article is dedicated to the issue of interaction between the Republic of Moldova and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the context of the country’s status of permanent neutrality. The authors note that collaboration with NATO is one of the most important strategies in Moldova’s external policy. Moldova’s participation in the “Partnership for Peace” program and its adoption of the Individual Plan of Action “The Republic of Moldova - NATO” provide the framework that contributes to indepth multi-level collaboration and the fostering of national and regional security. The neutrality of Moldova was enshrined in the country’s Constitution of 1994. However, the international procedures for the recognition of the state’s neutral status have not been realized. According to the authors, the status of neutrality does not prevent collaboration with NATO, primarily in non-warfare related fields - science, ecology, combating natural cataclysms, terrorism, etc. The authors conclude that in general, the country’s permanent status of neutrality and the multitude of NATO’s resources (economic, financial, etc.) are beneficial for maintaining its national security, by creating political and economic conditions for solving Moldova’s internal problems, as well as contributing to the fostering of peace and stability in the region.
ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE 1999 NATO BOMBING – SURVEY

ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE 1999 NATO BOMBING – SURVEY
(ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE 1999 NATO BOMBING – SURVEY)

  • Author(s):Bojan B. Dimitrijević
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Security and defense, Military policy, Politics and Identity
  • Page Range:440-459
  • No. of Pages:20
  • Keywords:battle damage; depleted uranium; environmental effects of the bombing; NATO aggression; human losses (casualties); economic effects of the bombing; health effects of the bombing
  • Summary/Abstract:This article presents a synthetic survey on the economic, environmental and health effects of the 1999 NATO military aggression. The aim of the article is to remind, once again, of the costs and consequences of the bombing for Serbia’s economy, aenvironment and the health of people. The recent arguments refer to an attempt to quantify the costs of the long-term health effects for people who were exposed to depleted uranium and other hazardous chemicals in Serbia. It could be the starting point for possible compensation payment to sick people and the families of those who died of the NATO Alliance bombing effects. Besides Introduction, Conclusion and Reference List, the article includes parts that refer to the synthetic evaluation of the costs and effects of the military aggression for the economy, environment and the health of people in Serbia and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF SERBIA: VICTIM OF NATO ATTACK

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF SERBIA: VICTIM OF NATO ATTACK
(ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF SERBIA: VICTIM OF NATO ATTACK)

  • Author(s):Valentina Vuković, Željko Budimir
  • Language:English
  • Subject(s):Architecture, Security and defense, Military policy
  • Page Range:460-481
  • No. of Pages:22
  • Keywords:architecture; heritage; aggression; Serbia; NATO
  • Summary/Abstract:The aim of this paper is to present the architectural heritage of Serbia bombarded by the NATO alliance and to point at numerous issues and problems in Serbia caused by the bombing. The paper is divided into four chapters: Introduction, Destroyed and Damaged Architectural Heritage, Breaking of International Conventions and the last one – The Army Headquarters Building: Reconstruction or remembrance of Crime like a Pledge of Peace in the Future. Among the numerous worthy architectural objects designed by internationally recognized architects and significant examples of Yugoslavia post - WWII modernization, NATO has destroyed objects-symbols of anti-fascist struggle. Moreover, many temples were damaged, even those of exceptional significance under the protection of UNESCO. Since the military operation took the humanitarian character, so far there is no liability accepted for human victims, as well as the demolition of cultural and historical heritage as they fall under “collateral damage”.
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