Map of Europe |
CIAO DATE: 07/03
Vol. 5, No 3 (September 2002)
After The Blues: Post-Peacekeeping Effects and Concerns in the Balkans
by Paul F. Diehl (Guest Editor)
Articles
NATO’s Secretary General Javier Solana and the Kosovo Crisis
(PDF format, 18 pgs, 180 kb)
by Ryan C. Hendrickson
Much research has been devoted to the post-Cold War evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its use of force in Kosovo. Very little analysis, however, is devoted to NATO’s Secretary General and how this position has evolved with the Alliance’s new strategic objectives. This article examines Secretary General Javier Solana’s contributions to Operation Allied Force, and how these findings relate to the issue of the role of Secretaries General in NATO after the Cold War. The findings suggest that greater leadership possibilities exist for the Secretary General and that Solana contributed to alliance cohesion on many fronts. Aspects of Solana’s leadership examined include the novel international legal foundation he crafted in North Atlantic Council meetings to justify the bombing, the use of NATO’s rules to foster co-operation, and his close working relationship with NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Solana’s connections to the Clinton Administration and his own exceptional diplomatic skills also offer an insight into the Secretary General’s ability to lead in this new security environment.
The Creation and Politics of International Protectorates in the Balkans: Bridges Over Troubled Waters
(PDF format, 17 pgs, 172 kb)
by Alexandros Yannis
One of the most prominent consequences of the post-Cold War violent disintegration of former Yugoslavia was the creation of what are commonly known today as the international protectorates in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. This article discusses the international and local contexts and factors that produced the international protectorates in the post-Cold war Balkans, as well as the role and politics of the protectorates in the process of re-establishing and building self-sustained stability in the region. Its main conclusion is that the role of the international protectorates in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo has basically been to facilitate the process of transition from the zero-sum nationalistic conflicts of the 1990s to the common goal of joining the European Union by ensuring the peace. Whether they can continue serving as a credible bridge to a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future in the Balkans without currently having either a clear road map or a local consensus on the very next steps remains both a formidable challenge and a big question mark.
International Influences on the Mobilisation of Violence in Kosovo and Macedonia
by Alynna Lyon
The recent history of multilateral interventions in ethnic conflicts paints a mixed picture of success. In the ashes of Kosovo, we find an excellent opportunity to evaluate the role international actors play in containing violence. At first glance, North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) involvement appeared to be treading in new humanitarian waters – an international effort to prevent human suffering. However, since NATO’s initial commitment violence continues and has spilled into neighbouring Macedonia. This article examines why the peacekeepers were unable to stop the violence. This work applied a modified resource mobilisation model to explore the relationship between NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and its sister group in Macedonia. Through the lenses of the model, the paper finds that the war NATO fought over human rights did not bring peace and, after three years, the peacekeeping operation has failed to contain contentious ethnic-based violence. The operation did not address the primary components of mobilisation and unconsciously contributed to the KLA’s retaliatory violence.
Bringing People Back In: Grassroots Approaches to Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina
by Bronwyn Evans-Kent
Peacemaking in Bosnia-Herzegovina is a controversial subject that engaged the political energies of the international community for several years without resolution. While international efforts at peacemaking warrant a critique in their own right, the assumptions that lie behind popular perceptions of peacemaking must also be examined. This paper explores the proposition that the promotion of multi-ethnic contact between Bosnian people is at least as important as elections or the reconstruction of political institutions. Indeed, the restoration and development of inter-ethnic relationships, especially at grassroots level, is essential for the establishment of sustainable peace. This paper thus focuses on the roles of NGOs (Non-governmental organisations) active at the grassroots level in Bosnia, such as the Centre for Drama in Education in Mostar, Project Firefly in Brcko, and the CARE Welcome Project in Sarajevo, which represent a grassroots form of peacemaking that incorporates local knowledge and understandings of the conflict within peace projects.
Book Reviews
Contemporary Conflict Resolution: The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts by Radek Khol
by Hugh Miall, Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse
Reconstructing Multiethnic Societies: The Case of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Ziga Novak
by Dzemal Sokolović and Florian Bieber (eds)
Globalization: A Critical Introduction by Jernej Pikalo
by Jan Aart Scholte
Transatlantic Studies by Stewart R. Ross
by Will Kaufman and Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson (eds)
States of Denial: Knowing about Atrocities and Suffering by Bostjan Saver
by Stanley Cohen