Kosovo: A Critical Analysis of Sovereignty and International Relations

Abstract

In the summer and fall of 1998, Serbian President Milosevic pursued a brutal plan of oppression in Kosovo, a southern province of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). While his avowed plan was to quash a secessionist movement by the small Kosovo Liberation Army, in October 1998 his military launched attacks directly against the civilian population of Kosovo, an ethnic minority composed of Albanians that have battled the Serbs for generations. The result of the FRY military action against the Kosovar civilians was the displacement of hundreds of thousands, threatening to destabilize the entire region. Widespread public outrage arose as pictures of Serbian humanitarian abuses against the ethnic Albanians were shown on televisions and in newspapers around the world. This pushed the United States and its NATO allies to respond, culminating in March 1999 in a 79 day NATO bombing campaign. In the aftermath of the bombing campaign, NATO was hard pressed to claim victory. While one could point out that Milosevic had finally been forced to withdraw his troops from Kosovo, many questions remained. What were the legal ramifications of the NATO bombing campaign? How had we misjudged so badly Serbian resolve in the face of the bombing campaign? What collateral damage to international relations might this action have inflicted? In the final analysis, was this mission really a success? It is the thesis of this paper that this was at best a limited victory for the United States led NATO coalition. We will look at a number of issues including the historical backdrop for the dispute. Sovereignty as a legal constraint to intervention will be examined. The effects this military action had on the United Nations and overall international relations will be discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 2000
Accession Number
ADA377957

Entities

People

  • Dvaid Gillingham

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ethnic Groups
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Minority Groups
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • Second World War
  • Sectarian Violence
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies