Sune Lund
American Military University, International Relations, Graduate Student
In 1999 NATO launched an air campaign against Serbia in order to force the withdrawal of Serbian forces and stop the onslaught against Kosovo-Albanians in the Serbian province Kosovo. The United Nations Security Council did not mandate... more
In 1999 NATO launched an air campaign against Serbia in order to force the withdrawal of Serbian forces and stop the onslaught against Kosovo-Albanians in the Serbian province Kosovo. The United Nations Security Council did not mandate the NATO operation, thus constituting an illegal aggression against Serbia according to international law. Yet, NATO persisted on the grounds of preventing a humanitarian disaster. The intervention thereby constituted a struggle between the need to preserve international order through respect of state sovereignty, and the pursuit of justice through the protection of individuals from repressive regimes.
In 2008, following nine years of international administration – but still officially a part of Serbia, Kosovo made a unilateral declaration of independence, which immediately was recognized by numerous Western states. Again the stage was set for a struggle between order and justice – between the need to respect state sovereignty and allowing a people to determine its own fate.
Arguing that the West’s unilateral intervention in 1999 and recognition of Kosovo in 2008 have caused an erosion of the international order, this paper uses a postdictive and qualitative research method to evaluate how the different institutions within Hedley Bull’s international order framework have been affected by the events in Kosovo. This paper concludes that the international order have been significantly weakened by the conduct of the West during the evolving Kosovo events.
In 2008, following nine years of international administration – but still officially a part of Serbia, Kosovo made a unilateral declaration of independence, which immediately was recognized by numerous Western states. Again the stage was set for a struggle between order and justice – between the need to respect state sovereignty and allowing a people to determine its own fate.
Arguing that the West’s unilateral intervention in 1999 and recognition of Kosovo in 2008 have caused an erosion of the international order, this paper uses a postdictive and qualitative research method to evaluate how the different institutions within Hedley Bull’s international order framework have been affected by the events in Kosovo. This paper concludes that the international order have been significantly weakened by the conduct of the West during the evolving Kosovo events.
