(cross-posted to The Agonist)
Kosovo faces rocky road along path to independence
If anyone deserves independence, it’s long-suffering Kosovo. And finally ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ after being victimized in the past of four Balkan wars begun and lost by Serbia in the 1990s ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ action on the issue appears at hand. The U.N. Security Council is considering independence for Kosovo, still nominally part of Serbia, after eight long years of oversight by the United Nations. But the challenges Kosovo faces in winning independence pale in comparison with what lies ahead: converting into a modern democracy a clan-based society whose economy is fueled by organized crime. Kosovo’s independence has reached the Security Council after a year of talks failed to move either the majority Kosovar Albanians or minority Serbs from their intractable positions. Serbia demands the impossible: that Kosovo remain part of its territory. But Serbia has started one regional war too many to be rewarded with keeping Kosovo. In the end, it will lose the province. The much more difficult issue for Kosovo is its reliance on a flourishing underground economy run by organized crime. Kosovo, says the U.N. and others, remains a trans-shipment point for human trafficking, drug distribution, small arms sales and counterfeit cigarettes.
I’ve lived and worked in Kosovo, and while I strongly agree that Kosovars deserve to be independent from Serbia and it’s history of oppression and genocide, I also recognize that independence is only the beginning. Through many years of Serbian economic and political oppression, as well as UN embargoes against Serbia, Kosovo’s economy has gone underground…and it’s not likely to come up for air any time soon.
This is not a situation where independence will come and democracy will automatically and as a matter of course flourish forthwith. To begin with, there’s nothing resembling a democratic tradition in Kosovo. The only tradition is corruption, greed, and lawlessness. Kosovo is a clan-based society, where political fealty goes first to family and clan, and only then to the state. Communication is poor, and many remote villages are still inaccessible by modern communications technology.
Economically, Kosovo is still ruled by the gun. Those individuals wanting to go into business for themselves are often forced to deal with self-styled Mafiosi thugs for “protection”. Given Kosovo’s location in Eastern Europe, it’s historically been a transit point for drug- and gun-runners. Simply put, Kosovo is not a safe and easy place to do business, and in order to succeed as an independent country, Kosovo will need a fair and functional economy. Independence is a start, but to describe Kosovo as having to start from scratch doesn’t begin to adequately describe the challenges facing Kosovars.
If we can sink billions into the hopeless clusterf—k that is Iraq, shouldn’t we be able to find a few millions to help Kosovo find it’s way as a fledgling independent country? Kosovars by an large love Americans (the main street in the capitol, Pristina, is named Bill Clinton Boulevard), and it’s not as if we have a lot of friends around the world these days. Perhaps it’s time to support a democracy that actually wants our help and expertise…because Lord knows Kosovo’s going to need all the help they can get.
