On 17 February 2008 the Kosovo Assembly voted unanimously in favor of declaring the independence of the Republic of Kosovo. Although Kosovo s Government coordinated every step with the International Community, the unilateral declaration of Independence made the process of the creation of the State of Kosovo into a secessionist case. As of 30 June 2010, sixty nine States have recognized Kosovo s independence. A considerable number of states maintain that the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo is contrary to the norms of international law. The absence of a unified collective policy of the UN towards Kosovo s independence led the General Assembly to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice. The author examines the legal positions regarding the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo and analyzes the International Community s role in the creation and recognition of Kosovo. The author argues that the unique circumstances of the creation of the State of Kosovo should find a reinterpretation of self-determination, statehood and recognition corresponding to the needs of the current developments of international law.

The secession of States is subject to legal regulation. The arguments presented by States in the advisory proceedings on Kosovo confirm that there are rules of international law that determine whether the secession of a State in the post-colonial world is permissible. These rules derive from the competing principles of self-determination and territorial integrity. In deciding whether to recognize a secessionist entity as a State, or to admit it to the United Nations, States must balance these competing principles, with due regard to precedent and State practice. These lectures examine cases in which secession has succeeded (such as Israel and Bangladesh), in which it has failed (such as Biafra and Chechnya) and in which a determination is still to be made (Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia).

Kosovo’s declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 has had a profound and polarising impact on international relations. While over a third of the world’s countries have recognised Kosovo, others have been concerned that it sets a precedent for secessionist minorities. Indeed, Kosovo appears to have been used as a precedent in the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia. The book brings together contributions from leading academics on the legal aspects of Kosovo and, in particular, the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion of 2010. The result is an extensive examination from a variety of experts on Kosovo and its impact on international law.

Kosovo embodies a key moment in the international practice of dealing with secessionist self-determination conflicts. For the first time, outside of the colonial context, and excepting Bangladesh in 1971, an entity's declaration of independence has been widely, albeit not universally, recognised. As such, the case of Kosovo has sharpened the focus and intensified the debate on the issue of self-determination conflicts and how they are managed by the international community. This volume contributes to this debate by examining Kosovo in historical and contemporary comparative perspective and by reflecting on the legal, ethical and political implications of its successful declaration of independence. This book was originally published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.

What makes a state? This question has attracted more and more attention in recent years with Catalan's illegal vote for independence from Spain and Palestine's ongoing search for international recognition. And while Scotland chose to remain with the United Kingdom, discussions of independence have only continued as the ramifications of the Brexit vote begin to set in. Kosovo, South Sudan, and the situation in Ukraine--each in its way reveals the perils of creating a nation separate from neighbors who have dominated it. As James Ker-Lindsay and Mikulas Fabry show in this new addition to the What Everyone Needs to Know® series, the road to statehood never did run smooth. Declaring independence is only the first step; gaining both local and global acceptance is necessary before a state can become truly independent. The prospect of losing territory is usually not welcomed by the parent state, and any such threat to an existing culture and its economy is often met with resistance--armed or otherwise. Beyond this immediate conflict, the international community often refuses to accept new states without proof of defined territory, a settled population, and effective government, which frequently translates to a democratic one with demonstrated respect for human rights. Covering the legal, political, and practical issues of secession and state creation, Ker-Lindsay and Fabry provide a sure-footed guide to a complex topic.

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Was this the final chapter in the break-up of Yugoslavia and the successful conclusion to the Balkan Wars of the 1990s? Or was it just one more wrong turn in the path to stability in the Balkans which has set a dangerous precedent for regional conflict throughout the world? When the UN Security Council authorised negotiations to determine the final status of Kosovo in October 2005, most observers confidently expected the Serbian province to become an independent state by the end of the following year. However, the process did not go as planned. After two years of discussions, conducted by two different sets of mediators, the two sides had still not reached an agreement. With the risk of violence in Kosovo increasing, Western leaders appeared to be left with no choice but to accept a unilateral declaration of independence - despite the destabilising effects that this might have on regional and international security. James Ker-Lindsay here charts the course of Kosovo's path to independence. He points out the serious flaws in the way the talks were conducted and shows how the discussions became caught up in renewed East-West tensions. This clear and perceptive account will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the recent history of the Balkans or in international conflict resolution.

This book represents a unique endeavor to elucidate the story of Kosovo’s unilateral quest for statehood. It is an inquiry into the international legal aspects and processes that shaped and surrounded the creation of the state of Kosovo. Being created outside the post-colonial context, Kosovo offers a unique yet controversial example of state emergence both in the theory and practice of creation of states. Accordingly, the book investigates the legal pathways, strategies, developments and policy positions of international agencies/actors and regional players (in particular the EU) that helped Kosovo to establish its independence and gradually acquire statehood. Although contested, Kosovo, and its quest for statehood, represents a unique example of successful unilateral secession. The book therefore explores and analyses patterns of state formation and nation-building in Kosovo, and its transition to democracy. It presents a three-level assessment. First, seen from a historical perspective, the book examines the validity of the right of Kosovar-Albanians to self-determination and remedial secession. Second, from a legal positivist perspective, it scrutinizes all of the legalist arguments that support Kosovo’s right to statehood, and claims that both traditional and legality-based criteria for statehood remain insufficient to determine whether Kosovo has achieved statehood. Third, from a post-factum perspective, the book analyzes the scope and extent to which the internationally blended element was decisive in Kosovo’s state-formation and state-building processes. It explains how the EU’s involvement as an ‘internationally blended element’ in Kosovo’s efforts to achieve statehood was instrumental and played a crucial role in shaping the emerging state. In particular, the book elaborates on how the EU was able to streamline its mode of intervention in the context of state-building and reform.