IB History: Kosovo

League of Prizren

Purpose: "defend language and culture" of Albania

Reason for forming: Albanians felt vulnerable with the waning of the Ottomans and the rising Serb nationalism

- Russo-Turkish War (1877-78): big blow to Ottomans, Albanians fear territory would be partitioned among other Balkan states

Sick man of Europe

Term referring to the Ottoman Empire because they could not hold onto their colonial possessions (Baltic states); waning power

Balkan League

an alliance between Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro to drive the Ottomans out of their land with Russian backing

Formed during the First Balkan War

Why was Serbia annexing Albania?

Albania has access to sea/coast and warm water ports (good for having a strong navy), while Serbia is land-locked.

Why was Serbia prevented from annexing Albania after the 1st Balkan War?

Serbia was blocked by Austria-Hungary

- wanted to expand colonial possessions to be like the other big boys of Europe (had already annexed Bosnia in 1908)

Primary cause of WWI as it relates to the Balkan States

Austria-Hungary's Franz Ferdinand visited Bosnia (annexed territory) on June 28th, 1914

- Anniversary of the Battle of the Blackbirds when Serbia lost Kosovo to the Ottomans (had been their colonizers)

- Austria-Hungary's attempting to show hegemony on this day was NOT a good idea

Balkan nationalism was threated by Austria-Hungary who wanted to take over Balkans to be a big boy European power

WWI begins in Balkans

- Ottomans receding in power -> central European powers view Balkans as opportunity to assert control

Gavrilo Princip

Bosnian Serb who shot and killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie

Treaty of London

May 1913

Officially removes all Ottoman influence from the Balkans

From what country did Serbia get support from?

Russia

- ethnic ties: slavs

- religious ties: orthodox christians

Significance: Battle of Blackbird/Kosovo

June 28th, 1389

- marked the beginning of centuries of Ottoman rule in Serbia

- when Ottomans attacked, Albanians sided with them -> Serbians see this as Albanians siding with oppressor/colonizer (similar to Tutsis getting favored by colonial powers)

- Kosovo = where many Serbians built their churches, considered a holy land

- key driving force behind Serb nationalism

Austria-Hungary's Motivations Regarding the Balkans

Hungry for Balkan dominance

Newly emerged as a European power -> wants to gain authority through colonial holdings

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes

formed in 1918 after WWI and later renamed Yugoslavia

- why: Allies (US, GB, France) want to give compensation to Serbs

Religious Groups in Yugoslavia

Orthodox Serbs

Catholic Croats

Muslim Slavs (mostly in southern region of Yugoslavia - Albania)

Tito's Strategy in limiting Serbian power

Tito = half Slovene and half Croatian; decreased ethnic strife

Strategy: balance power between constituent republics and ruthlessly suppress any signs of resurgent nationalism

- dilute Serb power and nationalism

Stalin and Tito's Split (1948)

Tito was well-respected European communist leader, his power threatened Stalin's position as communist leader.

Tito also had no allegiance to Stalin because he was a proponent of non-alignment.

Tito grew closer with western states; freed from Stalin's influence to an extent.

Primary Consequence of WWII on Yugoslavia

German invasion reinvigorated ethnic tensions -> civil war within a larger war

- Croatia sides with Nazis and support ethnic cleansing of Serbs, Jews, Roma

- Tito leads faction against Nazis

Albania gains independence after giving up demands for Kosovo

Enver Hoxha Foreign Policy

Leader of Albania

- Allied with Stalin after the Tito/Stalin split

- Closes border with Yugoslavia

- After Stalin, Hoxha allies Albania with China (Mao)

- Hoxha got Albanian independence but at the expense of his country's progress

Yugoslavia Constitution Reforms (1974)

One vote per republic including Kosovo and Vojvodina - 8 votes total

- Milosevic replaces leaders in Vojvodina and Montenegro with his own allies; unchecked power

The Rise of Milosevic

SANU Memorandum = fake message that Kosovar Albanians were about to start a genocide against ethnic Serbs

- Milosevic adopted the memorandum's tone and content to draw attention to himself and become a representative for Serbian nationalist discontent

June 28th, 1989 Field of Blackbirds speech

- extreme nationalist rhetoric

Why did Kosovar Albanians seek independence?

Kosovar Albanians were fine living under Tito, but under Milosevic, Serb nationalism was growing

- Kosovo lost autonomous status (1989) -> Albanians vulnerable whether they stay with Yugoslavia or independent

- Serbian parliament dissolved Kosovo Assembly -> denied Albanian voice in gov

Immediate Causes for the Kosovo War

Ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians led to high Albanian nationalism

Suppression of Kosovar Albanian independence campaign

Dayton Accords (Kosovar Albanians ignored, blame on Rugova) -> invigoration of the KLA -> chaos, labeled as terrorist group

The main reason US and NATO intervened in Kosovo

to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians by Serbs (according to NATO, 100k killed)

KLA: Labeled Terrorist Organization

Disorganized group of nationalist Kosovar Albanians, not backed by a government

Serb authorities, US state department, and Special US Envoy sent by Clinton labeled them as terrorists

Event that escalated NATO's involvement in Kosovo

Racak massacre -> NATO airstrikes

Racak Massacre

45 Kosovar Albanians in central Kosovo killed

- seen as retribution after 4 Serbian policemen killed (likely by the KLA)

- Civilians shot and killed other civilians, KLA was known for dressing in civilian clothing

- led US to call airstrikes against Belgrade

- one person brought to trial but pardoned

NATO Strategy

Awe campaign: hit targets hard and fast to display military power and force Serbian withdrawal

No combat fatalities

Smart bombs with precise targets

Rambouillet Agreement (1999)

Failed peace agreement between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs

- Major stipulation: NATO would post troops in Yugoslavia (Belgrade and Kosovo)

- Serbs refuse to be occupied

- breakdown of peace talks were a pre-text for NATO's bombing campaign

Major Mistake made by NATO

Mid-April 1999, NATO accidentally strikes a column of Kosovar Albanian refugees, killing 80

- leaders were told a SERB convoy was in the area

- the KOSOVAR convoy matched the description of military vehicle

- mistake blamed on height and speed of aircraft

Serbs Justify Ethnic Cleansing

Used the NATO bombings as cover for the expulsion of Kosovar Albanians from the region

- moving people out from Kosovo

- wanted to take advantage of chaos and rapidly change the ethnic identity of Kosovo

Operation Horseshoe

may or may not have happened; plan given by the SERBIAN government to ethnically cleanse Kosovo of Albanians

1. Destroy KLA

2. Cleanse Kosovo of ethnic Albanians

- squeeze the Albanian population from three sides

- Serbs deny any official plan to ethnically cleanse

Russia in the Kosovo War

Russia was not involved in actual campaign (US/NATO bypassed security council)

Diplomacy: Speak with Milosevic -> 10-point program

- ceasefire, international monitoring, and settlement of Kosovo's independence

- Boris Yeltsin was critical in designing the peace process

Pristina Airport

Russians occupied the airport on June 12, 1999 (justification: helping w/ diplomacy/peace)

- Russians wanted to influence events -> took control of airfield

- meet with NATO troops, nothing happens

Political Consequences of NATO's Intervention

NATO bypassed the UN security council and acted beyond their mandate (acted beyond Poland + taking sides in a civil war)

NATO establishes themselves as big boys in charge

The Leader who Played a major role in persuading Clinton to intervene

Tony Blair, PM of UK

Strong advocate for military action against ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians

Kumanovo Agreement (1999)

FRY and Serbia withdraw forces

Precondition for NATO to stop bombing Serbian targets

Established ground and air safety zones

Milosevic Refusing authority of ICTY

ICTY was not established with the consent of the UN General Assembly but only through the Security Council

Serbia eventually arrests Milosevic, why?

Kostunica originally refused to cooperate with Milosevic's arrest

US gave $50 million in aid to Yugoslavia contingent upon the arrest of Milosevic

Key limitations of ICTY

Lack of proper infrastructure, machinery, and expertise within Kosovo to prosecute war crimes (very complex cases)

Kosovo justice system could not be trusted if KLA were to be tried as well

Would justice be appropriately carried out against Serbs?

- UN worried Serbians would be punished by Kosovo with little evidence to justify

Why many ethnic Serbs consider the ICTY biased

Tribunal unfairly targeted Serbian crimes while ignoring Albanian and Croat crimes

Would be biased if KLA would be prosecuted

Factors Contributing to Kosovo's Economic Instability

- Mostly subsistence farming (just enough to get by, generate very little for GDP)

- very dependent on foreign aid

- high unemployment

- aid for post-war reconstruction -> economic boom which covered up deeper problems in Kosovar economy

Kosovo's Use of the Euro

Adopted the Euro to keep inflation low

Major obstacle Kosovo faced towards getting full independence

Lack of international recognition (ex: Serbia, China, and Russia still refuse to recognize it)

Ethnic tensions persist in Kosovo

Violence persists but not in coordinated fashion

Ethnic divisions remain between Albanian majority and Serbian minority

- Serb minorities and Roma targeted for revenge by KLA (burning, looting, destruction of churches/monasteries)

- Serb institutions and Serb culture removed but 130k Serbs still remain

Controversies Surrounding Kosovo's 2008 Independence

A multitude of states recognized its independence, but Russia and Serbia refused and Kosovo is not able to apply for recognition as member state of UN

A government that opposed Kosovo's independence

Serbia and Russia

NATO's Justification for Intervening in Kosovo

100k death toll

Long-term impact of Kosovo War

- NATO asserts itself as a force for protecting ethnic minorities

- China and Russia very unhappy that western powers bypassed UN, UN power could be used against them

- NATO is in charge in post-Cold War world

- Principle of national sovereignty established

Who challenged the principle of national sovereignty?

Serbia by interfering in Kosovar Albanian's right to sovereignty