Using the International Relation’s Theory to Explain the Kosovo Albanian War

Milosevic's failure to respect human rights and sign NATO's proposed peace agreement between the two, Yugoslavia and Kosovo, led to a NATO-led military campaign against Yugoslavia. In 1999, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution that suspended Yugoslav control over Kosovo and the newly independent territory was placed under UN administration. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which authorized a NATO peacekeeping force to stabilize the region. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008 and has been recognized by over half of United Nations members. On the 19th of April 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed a historic agreement which has so far successfully normalized relations between the two

2. In 1989 Slobodan Milosevic came to power in the Socialist Republic of Serbia, then one of six republics that made up the federation of Yugoslavia, on a platform that aggravated the ethnic tension in the region.1 In 1991 three of the six republics declared independence from Yugoslavia, followed by a fourth in 1992.2 Milosevic launched military campaigns and when the fighting ceased in 1995. The two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.3 In 1997, Serbia began a brutal campaign that involved the massacre of hundreds of civilians, mostly ethnic Albanians, in the region of Kosovo.4 Milosevic was ousted in 2000 and the nation was once again reorganized in 2003.5 In 2006, Montenegro seceded, followed by Kosovo in 2008; a declaration Serbia refuses to acknowledge.6

WOULD YOU AGREE THAT REALISM IS THE MOST CONVINCING PARADIGM FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS? WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF REALISM AS A THEORY FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS?

In the 1990s Yugoslavia was the battlefield of Europe’s bloodiest war since 1945. This notorious culmination was a product of an interconnected chain of events which began in the mid-1980s with the deepening of the conflict and the extremely strained relations between the two major ethnic groups in Kosovo: Albanians and Serbs. Kosovo was the most problematic region in the whole federation due to the large number of Albanian population in the province and the heterogeneous ethnic picture of the area. In parallel with that,

The allies thought that Serbia deserved to be rewarded. The U.S, British, and French governments all officially recognized Serbian valor during the ward, and the Battle of Kosovo became the subject of many sermons throughout the world as a valiant effort to defend Christianity (Vickers 1998: 97). WWI activated, mobilized, and politicized a Serbian notion of identity that would plant the seeds for future conflict (Harzl 2011: 56). WWI further consolidated the imagery of Serbians as victims, an imagery that would undergird the discourse of intellectuals in the late twentieth century. Serbia staggering amount of human loss particularly in Kosovo placed them well to argue that they needed the region to reestablish their cultural identity. National identity does not just have positive components, but needs negative moments and history that deprives that identity of something that is required for its full establishment. This was the backdrop for future arguments made by the Serbian elite and intellectuals to push for Serbian control over Kosovo (Shigeno 2004:

Under the Bill Clinton Administration reformation and foreign policy was beginning to be established with the proper delegations, resources and policies. According to The History Place President Clinton called for action, “an ultimatum through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) demanding that the Serbs withdraw their artillery from Sarajevo. The Serbs quickly complied and a NATO-imposed cease-fire in Sarajevo was declared.” (Kershaw.) This was just the beginning of foreign development solution for the Balkan region. The Clinton administration pushed diplomatic regulations that were designed to unify the Serbs and the Croats. However, the Serbs did not take to the policies very well and still continued to attack towns in the Croatian areas and kill them as well. The Serbs began to disregard all Safe Haven zones that were established thus force for the UN to call air strikes into the Serbs territory. It was until 1995 that America finally sent active military troop to assist in the war overseas. With the success of the United States military the Serbs were quickly losing ground and well as soldiers. This forced the Serbs to surrender as The History Place states, “On November 1, 1995, leaders of the warring factions including Milosevic and Tudjman traveled to the U.S. for peace talks at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio.” (Kershaw.) As a result foreign policies were declared. One was that the two nations be seceded from one another as independent states. Two was that democratic methods be used and followed through on in all government activities. Third all criminals from the war were to be turned in a prosecuted with proper punishment. Also as a result the Dayton Peace Agreement was created as a peace agreement that was established in Dayton, Ohio

People who saw these images were concerned about the well-being of other humans and began to speak out. The “non-response” resulted by the western media labeling the genocide “as a “cease fire breakdown,” and another round of unstoppable tribal bloodletting.” (par.5) These events formed debates discussing the ability of media to promote humanitarian concern amongst Western foreign policy elites and publics. By 1999, the NATO air campaign during the crisis in Kosovo marked a decade in which humanitarian intervention had been firmly established on both media and foreign policy terms.

The Serbians believed their ancestors were present first in the land while the Muslim believes otherwise. They believed that Albanians do not deserve the country, because the people came after the sixteenth centuries, which would not put them in the land before the Albanians. Also Serb believes that because their ancestors fought and lost so much blood that they should be rightful owners of the land. The main reason Serbia wants to keep Kosovo under them is because they look to Kosovo as the heart of their state. According to the constitution of 1974 both Serbia and Albanians have historical claims to Kosovo. It also gave affirmative action programs for the Kosovo people. The war continues to go on today and will continue to go on even though Kosovo have declared their

Kosovo is located in southern Serbia. There, due to the immigration of many Albanians into Serbia, many conflicts have risen. Serbia reclaimed the territory of what they call modern day Kosovo, however, hatred still remains. The Albanians believe Kosovo has been their land, yet, Serbians have proclaimed they have been there for 500 years. In response, the Albanians revolt and are using terrorist-like attacks on the Serbians; such as houses being destroyed, mass killings, poisoning of the livestock, and so on. The Serbian women and children have moved into hiding while the men stay behind to protect them. I believe all of these problems are due to conflicting religions, revenge, and emotional attachments to the territory.

Post-WW2, the Yugoslavian Communist-led government, already fought for the ‘brotherhood and unity of the peoples of Yugoslavia’3, p.17. Nevertheless, the US Reagan administration’s policies such as ‘NSDD-133’ purposefully tried to Collapse communism and were successful. The United States through foreign policy was arguably a direct cause of Yugoslavia’s desperate state where inflation soared between 80 to 160%, the unemployment rate was at 12%, federation debts were near $20 billion USD, and ethnic groups began to turn against each other3, p.17. 4, p.22-23. 2. Historian Gale Stokes elaborates, ‘Almost every ethnic group became frightened that they would be relegated to the status of a ‘minority’, who were discriminated against’ in a divided Yugoslavia3, p.84-85. Then afterwards, the Bush Administration was afraid of getting involved in fear of losing the Presidential Election3, p.156. 1. Likewise, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) among other foreign entities such as the United Nations (UN) helped the Albanians throughout the war, without understanding the effects of past Serbian discrimination. The Serbs were returning the treatment they received which was historically considered acceptable3, p.99, 117. 4, p.25-49. 5. NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign was arguably harmful to the present day with cases of civilian deaths and the Albanian KLA still persecuting Serbs4, pp.25-41. 5, p.46. Nevertheless, NATO, among other foreign influences at least ended the war through forcing Milosevic into treaty negotiations and lessening his military capabilities3, pp.323, 334-335. 2. Michael Libal, the former head of the German Foreign Ministry additionally accuses Germany, Australia, Hungary, and Denmark of ‘covertly supporting and encouraging Slovene and Croatian strivings for independence’. Historian Dusan Janjic agrees that ‘The inaction and wrong actions of the

The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, most importantly the Battle of Kosovo, illustrates a time in history where ideas of Serbian identity and collective memories were created that would later be used by politicians to invoke nationalist sentiments (Bieber 2002: 98). As the Ottoman Empire grew it made its way through Asia Minor and into the Balkans, continually chipping away at a weakening Byzantine Empire (Vickers 1998: 11). One of the greatest battles in the Empire’s conquest was the Battle of Kosovo. On June 28, 1389 in Kosovo Polje, Serbs and Albanians stood side by side defending the Balkans from further Ottoman expansion (Vickers 1998: 16). It’s important to note that in this point in history ethnic Albanians and Serbs shared a common religion and lived in relative harmony. The battle was ultimately a draw but allowed the Turks to move forward with their conquest and roll back Serbian statehood (Vickers 1998: 16). Modern day Serbian and Nationalism draw on conjectures that Kosovo was predominantly Serb or Albanian before the Turkish invasion (Pavkovic 2000). Ottoman registers of land property in the early 15th century show an overwhelming Serb majority. There was in fact a steady migration of Serbs to Kosovo before the Turkish invasion, but that was soon to change (Vickers 1998: 18). With Ottoman rule came the building of mosques, the looting of monasteries, and increased taxes and military service for Christians. Albanians in Kosovo intermingled with the Turks and were gradually Islamized, while Serbs began leaving the region (Vickers 1998: 27). This led to the Albanian saying, “Where the sword is, there lies religion” (Vickers 1998: 25). The exodus of Serbs from the region, intent on retaining their Christianity,

While liberalism believes war to be avoidable through education, reformation of social institutions, and shared interests with other nations, realism finds war to be an unavoidable consequence of the self-preservation of the state. Liberalism sees the potential for and desires change, while realism finds change unlikely. Both theories agree on the principle that the international system is anarchic in nature. However, whereas realism relies on a balance of power to keep the system in check, liberalism does so through cooperation of international institutions and mutual interest of various states.

The land of Kosovo has been plagued with tension for hundreds of years, being claimed by several surrounding countries. The two biggest contenders, Albanians in Kosovo and Serbia have been fighting for the land, which culminated in a full war from 1998-1999. The war brought international attention to the war crimes committed by both sides, and proved that the two countries had years to go before coming to a solution. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) led by Kosovo Albanians, and the Serbian militia led by President Slobodan Milošević committed heinous crimes against their enemies. Crimes range from ethnic cleansing to rape, and destruction of whole villages. The violence created a serious refugee problem that is still relevant today.

Serbia feels a cultural tie to Kosovo because it has many monasteries, churches, and religious sites that are significant to the orthodox Christian faith, which is the main religion for Serbs (Malcolm). The Serbian claim conflicts with the Albanian majority who believes they have a claim to Kosovo because of they are the largest group. Throughout history Kosovo has been profitable because it have many natural resources, such as metals like nickel, and it is known for its abundance of silver, which has caused conflict because many countries have wanted to claim it. During World War Two, Hitler used the mines in Kosovo for profit (Malcolm). Mostly, Kosovo has been coveted because it is in a good location with many mountains guarding it and has always been a checkpoint for many trade routes, which made it prone to conquests. Conflict can always be understood through history, and Kosovo’s strategic location is one main reason for the fighting.

Realism focuses on the balance of power and how it impacts of actions of state actors within the international political system. Morgenthau said that, “The aspirations for power on the part of several nations, each trying to either maintain or overthrow the status quo, leads of necessity to a configuration that is called the balance of power and to policies that aim at preserving it” (Morgenthau 1967,131). He goes on by explain that not only is the balance of power and the policies that protect it inevitable but also that they are essential for