Conflict in Kosovo through the Conceptual Framework of Stakeholders

Abstract

IntroductionResearch into armed conflict should encompass the examination of the role and status of the participants by presenting their interests, goals, behaviors, and relationships. In this paper, we have chosen the Serbian-Albanian conflict in Kosovo as a case study. Although hostilities ceased in 1999, the conflict remains ongoing politically, and is largely unresolved.1 This conflict has proven to be one of the most enduring in contemporary Europe. The crux of the conflict has been a dispute over the political status of Kosovo. Owing to its rich history and past cultural experiences, Kosovo's territory has deep symbolic and mythological dimensions within the minds of both the Serbs and the Albanians. The conflict is embodied by the diverse natures of the participating stakeholders and the complexity of their interactions. These factors were manifested violently during the civil war from 1998 to 1999 that featured the horrors of ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity. The war ended with the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo in June of 1999. However, its full resolution remains incomplete.This article touches on the ethical and historical roots of the conflict. Most importantly, it attempts to illuminate the problem from the perspective of the interest groups that existed prior to and during the engagement in the conflict. The situational problematic includes the framework provided by the stakeholders that was used in strategic analysis. This analysis covers the period of the civil war, tracing the operations of a contractual system capable of building a future state with various stakeholders who have invested in realizing a fully functional statehood (the concept stakeholder, shareholders). Stakeholders are frequently organizations and groups residing within the analyzed entity (Kosovo as the state) that are further dependent on the decisions affecting, or potentially affecting, the state's direction and navigational decision-making (see Figures 1 and 2). These entities directly or indirectly benefit or incur costs that are intimately associated to the state's functioning. It is important to note that the interests of different stakeholders can be contradictory. These contradictions tend to breed differing levels of conflict and are linked to the conflict's resolution.It appears that the main actors must consider the specific needs and pressing force of establishing a critical hierarchy of importance in negotiations. Each of the interest groups or shareholders has their own authority, vulnerabilities, as well as vested interests. Also, each shareholder must reflect on the specific pressures prior to any major decision-making. Subject to analysis in this case are the authorities of Kosovo. This article thus presents the possibility of carrying out this kind of research with the Kosovo conflict as the case study, focusing on internal and external stakeholders.Participation of the Main Stakeholders in the Kosovo ConflictThe background of the conflict between the Albanians and the Serbs is primarily ethnic. Other aspects of life and lived experience are shared, such as history, religion, culture, and language. The Serbs consider Kosovo to be the cradle of their statehood, belonging to territory that they gained in the Middle Ages; in this area was the capital of the medieval state. Furthermore, the seat of the Orthodox Church was in Pec. The church served as the cultural center of statehood, as well as a source of national identity for the Serbs. The presence of numerous monasteries provided the Kosovo Serbs with what was www.euronews.com/2014/02/13/the-road-to-recognition-pm-thaci-on-statehood-corruptionand-kosovo-s-european-/ called a Serbian Jerusalem. For the Albanians, Kosovo has also been the cradle of both the state and the nation. In this line of thought, the Albanians robustly identify themselves with the Illyrians. This tribal population inhabited Kosovo during the second century B. …