From Protectorate to Statehood

Through history and modern power politics, Kosovo represents, in a nutshell, the problems created in the Balkans. Former Yugoslavia was exemplary for an artificial State where even the division into five republics and two autonomous provinces did not satisfy the divergent aspirations of the respective nations and ethnic groups. It disintegrated as soon as Communist ideology and Serb-dominated armed forces ceased to exist as a common bond. This presented the international community and its legal order with an enormous challenge. From Protectorate to Statehood explores the question of how to reconcile the principle of the territorial integrity of States with the legitimate claims for secession, and exercising the right of self-determination in general. Subsequently, the book focuses in detail on the special case of Kosovo, comparing the successful independence process with matters in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. From Protectorate to Statehood also examines the legal and political challenges for the European Union's commitment to Kosovo under its Common Foreign and Security Policy.