At the Margins of Sovereignty: Policies, Politics and Actors in Post-Conflict Kosovo BY ANIKA BISHKA B.A., University of Tirana, Albania, 1989 M.A., University of Illinois at Chicago, 2007 THESIS Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Sciences in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Chicago, 2014 Chicago, Illinois Defense Committee Sultan Tepe, Chair and Advisor Norma C. Moruzzi Ralph Cintron, English Victor Friedman, University of Chicago Nicholas Lemay – Hébert, University of Birmingham, UK To Mikel, for keeping me on the road. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with every intellectual journey, this research could not have been possible without the help, support and encouragement of many people who have shared my thoughts, my ambitions and my life. My first thanks go to my dissertation committee. Indeed, they must be thanked for giving the time, the patience and, most important, the attention without which scholarly projects are destined to grow frail. Special thanks to my Chairperson, Dr. Tepe, who has been my toughest critic, close mentor, and also my cheerleader. I am grateful to Dr. Moruzzi for her help and support during multiple stages of this dissertation. Many thanks to Dr. Cintron for encouraging me “to find a way to give voice to my [eclectic] field notes”. I thank Dr. Friedman who never ceased to surprise me with his knowledge, genuine support and punctuality both here and when I was in the field. I would like to thank in particular Dr. Lemay- Hebert with whom I share the intellectual curiosity to engage with the “vernacular” politics of international intervention and who made it possible for me to reach many people during my fieldwork. Second, I would like to thank many individuals in Kosovo, who made me feel at home. I am grateful to have met, talked and argued with so many people whose intellectual audacity and unique lifetime experiences re-calibrated my thoughts on politics and life. Last, but not least, I owe many thanks (and as many apologies) to my family who shared this journey with me, literally and metaphorically, and grew through it. AB iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 A. Instead of a Prologue .............................................................................................. 1 B. Research Goals and Questions ................................................................................ 5 C. Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................. 8 D. International State Building: The Emergence of a Paradigm ............................... 10 1. Overview: What is international state building? ....................................... 10 2. International state building as a policy preference ................................... 12 E. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 16 II. LITERATURE REVIEW: INTERNATIONAL STATE-BUILDING, DOCILE STATES AND THE PRODUCTION OF THE POLITICAL .......................................................... 17 A. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 17 B. International State Building and the Rehabilitation of State ................................ 20 1. The rehabilitation project of collapsed and fragile states ......................... 20 2. International state building and democratic theory ................................... 27 C. International State Building and (Miss)Appropriation of Sovereignty................. 34 D. International State Building and Political Life ..................................................... 40 E. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 45 III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 47 A. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 47 B. The Organizing Principle of the Research ............................................................ 48 C. The Relevance of Kosovo as a Case Study ........................................................... 51 D. Research Design: Technicalities and Practicalities of Research ........................... 54 1. Technicalities of research ......................................................................... 54 2. Practicalities of research ........................................................................... 59 E. Kosovo: Background to War ................................................................................ 63 1. A historical snapshot ................................................................................. 63 2. The ethnic crisis and NATO campaign ..................................................... 65 3. Kosovo as an international protectorate .................................................... 67 IV. PARTIES AS “UTILITY GOODS” ................................................................................. 72 A. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 72 B. International State Building and the Usability of Political Parties ....................... 75 1. Operationalizing politics: The need for political parties ........................... 75 2. The normative argument: Political parties as engines of politics ............. 79 C. A Brief Overview of Political Parties in Kosovo.................................................. 82 1. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) .............................................. 84 2. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) ................................................. 87 3. Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) ................................................ 88 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER PAGE 4. The New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) ............................................................ 89 5. Self-Determination Movement (LVV) ..................................................... 89 6. The New Spirit (FER) ............................................................................... 91 D. Necessary but Inexplicable ................................................................................... 92 1. Lack of policy alternatives ........................................................................ 95 2. Prevalence of patron-client relationship ................................................... 98 E. Opportunistic or Calculative Politicians? ........................................................... 101 F. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 110 V. MANAGEMENT BY PARTICIPATION OR PARTICIPATION BY MANAGEMENT: CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE INTERNATIONAL STATE BUILDING PROJECT ......... 113 A. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 113 B. Models of Civil Society: Prevalent Analytical Frameworks .............................. 115 1. The classical liberal model ...................................................................... 115 2. An “un” – liberal model .......................................................................... 118 C. Civil Society in the International State Building Project .................................... 121 1. Veneers of liberal thought in approaches to civil society ...................... 121 2. Modalities of correction: “Seeding” civil society in Kosovo ................ 127 D. Civil Society in Kosovo: Past and Present .......................................................... 132 1. Past encounters........................................................................................ 132 2. The post war civil society ....................................................................... 137 E. Patterns of Continuity and Rupture..................................................................... 141 F. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 151 VI. THE DECENTRALIZATION AGENDA: DISENTANGLING COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL ACTORS.............. 153 A. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 153 B. Decentralization: Institutional Designs of Ethnic Appeasement ....................... 155 1. An overture to decentralization in Kosovo ............................................. 155 2. Unpacking “apparent” solutions: What is decentralization? .................. 157 C. Vicious Circles of Insecurity: Pluralist Challenges to Post Conflict Kosovo ..... 160 1. Ethnic cleavages in pre-war Kosovo....................................................... 160 2. Serbian population as a vulnerable community in post war Kosovo ...... 163 3. Freedom Without a Future – Insecurities of Kosovars ........................... 167 D. Decentralization in Kosovo: from Modus Vivendi to Modus Operandi ............. 170 1. The first challenge: A Modus Vivendi for independence .................. 170 2. The second challenge: A Modus Operandi for ethnic Serbs .................. 173 E. “Domestication” of the Decentralization Agenda............................................... 177 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER PAGE 1. The Rambouillet negotiations ................................................................. 177 2. Vienna accords ........................................................................................ 180 3. Implementing decentralization ................................................................ 183 F. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 189 VII. CONCLUDING REMARKS .......................................................................................... 190 A. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 190 B. Conceptual Gaps ................................................................................................. 192 C. “Infrapolitics” of State Building ......................................................................... 195 CITED LITERATURE ............................................................................................................... 199 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................ 214 VITA ............................................................................................................................. 217 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. PARTIES POSITION IN POLITICAL SPECTRUM ......................................... 96 II. SERBIAN POPULATION IN KOSOVO .......................................................... 162 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Investigating political parties ................................................................................... 61 2. Investigating civil society ........................................................................................ 62 3. The “double-desk” governmental structure . ........................................................... 69 4. The electoral circle . ................................................................................................. 78 5. Relevant parties in Kosovo ..................................................................................... 84 6. Electorate size .......................................................................................................... 92 7. Voter turnout (2000 – 2010 elections, all levels). .................................................... 93 8. Assigned responsibility for the 2010 political crisis .............................................. 105 9. Regional distribution of civil society organizations ............................................. 138 10. Civil society aid vs. state budget............................................................................ 140 11. Citizens’ opinion on which issue should be prioritized by civil society ............... 149 12. Ethnic settlements in Kosovo, by size and territorial distribution ......................... 161 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAK Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (Aleanca per Ardhmerine e Kosoves) AKR Alliance for the New Kosovo (Aleanca Kosova e Re) CDHRF Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms CE Council of Europe EC European Commission EU European Union EULEX European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo FER The New Spirit Party (Partia Fryma e Re) FIQ Forum for Citizens’ Initiatives (Forumi per Iniciativa Qytetare) ICG International Crisis Group ICO International Civilian Group IKS Kosovo Stability Initiative (Iniciativa Kosovare per Stabilitet) KFOR Kosovo Force (under NATO) KIPRED Kosovo Institute for Policy Analysis and Research KLA Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK: Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosoves) KLGA Kosovo Local Government Institute LDD Democratic League of Dardania (Lidhja Demokratike e Dardanise) LDK The Democratic League of Kosovo (Lidhja Demokratike e Kosoves) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PDK Democratic Party of Kosovo (Partia Demokratike e Kosoves) ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (continued) QUINT An informal group in Kosovo made up of ambassadors of five countries: England, Germany, Italy, France and USA. SIDA Swedish International Development Agency UNDP United Nations Development Program UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNMIK United Nations Mission in Kosovo USAID United States Agency for International Development VV Self - determination movement/political party (Vete - vendosje) x