Breaking Away

Kosovo’s Unilateral Secession

Argyro Kartsonaki

This book presents the background that led to Kosovo’s success in separating from Serbia and explains the reasons for its failure to achieve uncontested statehood—both internally and externally. It sheds light to the process of Kosovo’s secession starting from its first unsuccessful attempt to secede in 1991and continuing to the present day. It shows how long and at the same time how lucky its secession was: Kosovo was eventually at the right place and the right time, being geographically located in Europe and having secured the support of the US at the time of its absolute supremacy in the international affairs. However, as this supremacy declined, Kosovo’s progress in international affairs declined too. Ten years after its unilateral declaration of independence, it has yet to achieve UN membership and uncontested statehood, and Kosovo also faces shortcomings in its internal function as a state. This book provides a holistic approach towards Kosovo’s secession from an international relations point of view. It takes into consideration events that happened in different times and different places and shows that secession is not merely an act that takes place in one specific time and place. It is rather a process that spans over time and events at different levels of analysis shape its outcome.

Lexington Books

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-6718-3 • Hardback • April 2018 • $90.00 • (£69.00)

978-1-4985-6719-0 • eBook • April 2018 • $85.50 • (£66.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / World / European

Breaking Away

Kosovo’s Unilateral Secession

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This book presents the background that led to Kosovo’s success in separating from Serbia and explains the reasons for its failure to achieve uncontested statehood—both internally and externally. It sheds light to the process of Kosovo’s secession starting from its first unsuccessful attempt to secede in 1991and continuing to the present day. It shows how long and at the same time how lucky its secession was: Kosovo was eventually at the right place and the right time, being geographically located in Europe and having secured the support of the US at the time of its absolute supremacy in the international affairs. However, as this supremacy declined, Kosovo’s progress in international affairs declined too. Ten years after its unilateral declaration of independence, it has yet to achieve UN membership and uncontested statehood, and Kosovo also faces shortcomings in its internal function as a state. This book provides a holistic approach towards Kosovo’s secession from an international relations point of view. It takes into consideration events that happened in different times and different places and shows that secession is not merely an act that takes place in one specific time and place. It is rather a process that spans over time and events at different levels of analysis shape its outcome.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-6718-3 • Hardback • April 2018 • $90.00 • (£69.00)

978-1-4985-6719-0 • eBook • April 2018 • $85.50 • (£66.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / World / European

Author

Argyro Kartsonaki is a research fellow at the University of Birmingham.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I: Main Concepts
Chapter 1: Defining Successful Secession
Part II: How the Past Shapes the Future
Chapter 2: Kosovo’s First Declaration of Independence: 1991
Chapter 3: The Turn of the Tide
Chapter 4: Kosovo under International Administration
Part III: The Aftermath of Kosovo’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Chapter 5: Kosovo towards External Recognition
Chapter 6: Kosovo’s Internal Viability
Conclusion
References
About the Author

Reviews

This book provides a rich and comprehensive analysis of the process of Kosovo’s unilateral secession from Serbia and the establishment of its state structure during the period from the First Balkan War (1912–1913) to the June 2017 elections.
— Europe-Asia Studies

When does separatism become statehood? Argyro Kartsonaki's masterful study of Kosovo—of conflicts, of ambitions, of concerns—is not just a benchmark for its past, present, and future. It is a thoughtful analysis that may just give us an idea of how to turn other confrontations into a productive way forward for new States.
— Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham

A fascinating study of the factors that enabled Kosovo to make a success of its unilateral secession. Argyro Kartsonaki’s rich multi-level analysis explores how Kosovo managed to secure external support for its independence in 2008, whereas it had failed in 1991, and how this external support has also enabled the creation of a functioning state. This book should appeal to anyone with an interest in the politics of state recognition.
— Nina Caspersen, Professor of Politics, University of York

Breaking Away

Kosovo’s Unilateral Secession

Argyro Kartsonaki

Breaking Away

Kosovo’s Unilateral Secession

ALSO AVAILABLE