Achieving Human Security after Intra-State Conflict: The Lessons of Kosovo

The missing link in human security research: Dialogue and insecurity in Kosovo

“…Similarly, a mixed record of external state-building in post-conflict Kosovo is a subject of critical peace-and state-building scholarship, which seeks to highlight the disempowering effects of international administration and normative mismatch between externally defined agendas and local needs (Hehir, 2010;Ioannides and Collantes-Cellador, 2011). The emerging human security-defined investigations have provided complementary insights by bringing in the local perspective as a critical commentary (Sabovic, 2010;Beha and Visoka, 2010;Kostovicova, 2008;Cleland Welch, 2006;Nelles, 2002). However, the contribution made by these studies to efforts to understand (in)security in Kosovo from the perspective of the people affected has been limited, owing to their use of selected understanding(s) of human security as a tool for interpretation and assessment that questioned neither the meaning of competing definitions nor the methods of investigation.…”

“…The emerging human security-defined investigations have provided complementary insights by bringing in the local perspective as a critical commentary (Sabovic 2010;Beha & Visoka 2010;Kostovicova 2008;Cleland Welch 2006;Nelles 2002). However, their contribution to the understanding of (in)security in Kosovo from the perspective of the people affected has been limited due to their use of selected understanding(s) of human security as a tool for interpretation and assessment, which questioned neither the meaning of competing definitions nor the methods of investigation.…”

The “Empty-Shell” Approach: The Setup Process of International Administrations in Timor-Leste and Kosovo, Its Consequences and Lessons

“…Indeed, if the international military campaign rode on a wave of popular sentiment (King and Mason 2006:79), and if during the initial months of the intervention UNMIK was able to justify and legitimize its presence to a certain extent, with its honeymoon over, UNMIK had a hard time convincing the local population of the legitimate character of its rule and administration. In the words of Anthony Welch, coordinator of the International Security Sector Review for Kosovo, UNMIK simply failed to command the respect of the local population (Welch 2006:225). As noted by Lesley Abdela, OSCE deputy director for democratization building in Kosovo, “by the time I left Kosovo in December 1999, UNMIK had squandered its honeymoon period (…) By mid‐October, it had become clear that the international community was fast loosing credibility” (2003:209).…”

Rentier Statebuilding in a Post‐Conflict Economy: The Case of Kosovo

“…In other words, UNMIK fundamentally lost the struggle for hearts and minds in Kosovo. In the words of Anthony Welch, Coordinator of the International Security Sector Review for Kosovo, UNMIK simply ‘failed to command the respect of the local population’ (Welch, : 225; see also ICG, ). After 2004, the level of satisfaction with UNMIK action was so low that, as King and Mason who had worked for UNMIK remarked: ‘If UNMIK had been up for election, it would have needed to campaign hard to win votes from anybody in Kosovo other than its own staff’ (2006: 220).…”