Whither Self Determination II?

A few days ago, Justin wrote how the governments of Cyprus and Romania would refuse to recognise an independent Kosovo should the international community go ahead and, as planned, support Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia. On Friday, the newly re-elected President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, told participants at a security conference in Munich that the possible partition of Serbia would likely lead to the flaring up of old conflicts. Tadic said “Should Serbia be partitioned against its will... it could in turn result in the escalation of many existing conflicts, the reactivation of a number of frozen conflicts, and the instigation of who knows how many new conflicts”. Although Tadic is attempting to strike a balancing act between securing Serbia’s path towards the European Union, while, at the same time, trying to avoid the breaking up of Serbia, his comments are interesting for a number of reasons. For instance, it is paramount that any violence is avoided in the Balkans – a region already ravaged by war and ethnic hostilities. This needs to be kept in mind although it is evident that the international community will (rightly) support Kosovo in its strive towards independence. Therefore, the establishing of a EU mission in Kosovo, as promised by EU leaders, is much welcomed in this respect. Furthermore, it is clear that Serbia, despite seeing its influence diminish, still plays a role in the stabilisation of the region on a political level. This needs likewise to be kept in mind by the West when supporting Kosovo. Thus, it is important not to alienate Serbia further now that its people has rejected the radical Tomislav Nikolic as president and favoured the more pro-Western Tadic. Of course, more Serbian collaboration in the tracking down of suspected war criminals like Radko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic would be helpful.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Your points are well taken Ole. I would, however, submit that Serbia and Serbs should not alienate themselves from Europe as it is their interest to raise from mistakes of past hundred years. Admittelly, Serbia still plays role in destabilisating the Balkan region, particulary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As it has been it the past, stabile Bosnia is a key for stable Balkan region and not Kosovo.

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