Progress Undone? Trading Democracy for Solving the Status Dispute in Kosovo
Progress Undone? Trading Democracy for Solving the Status Dispute in Kosovo

Author(s): Bodo Weber
Subject(s): International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: DPC Democratization Policy Council e.V.
Keywords: Kosova state-building; Kosova and Serbia; Kosova and EU; Western Balkans;
Summary/Abstract: Through their single-minded focus on the Dialogue, driven by tactical, short-term and short-sighted considerations, the EU and the US have directly and consistently contributed to worrying trends in Kosovar politics. Less than a year after the EU supported the coalition deal designed to get the Belgrade-Prishtina Dialogue back on track, Kosovo is again in the throes of an institutional crisis with recent opposition protests and blockage of the parliament’s work. The irony is that the damage inflicted on Kosovo’s already-fragile democracy by the EU and the US now threatens the very progress achieved in the Dialogue. In order to prevent a further deterioration of the situation and strengthen democracy and rule of law in Kosovo, the EU and the US must undertake a number of policy adjustments.

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