The United States and the European Union in post-war Kosovo, 1999-2012: an analysis of transatlantic peacebuilding approaches

Abstract

After much was made of the transatlantic discordance with regards to foreign policy vis-à-vis Kosovo during the Trump presidency, the question arose how their efforts towards building a peaceful post-conflict state looked like in the years prior. After first looking at the recent history of post-Cold War post-conflict reconstruction (peacebuilding and statebuilding) and synthesizing dominant approaches on the liberal and realist axis, the analysis turns specifically to the cooperation of the United States and the European Union. Though institutionally different with regards to decision-making and military/civilian capabilities, both the moral and strategic importance of post-war stabilization resonated across the Atlantic. A trove of leaked cables illuminate the day to day process of their work in Kosovo, showing a deeply involved, proactive and result-oriented US and a more reticent, process-based and careful EU. Indeed. while sharing similar end goals (Kosovo as a multi-ethnic liberal democracy incorporated within Euro-Atlantic structures), the approaches towards Kosovo and Serbia deviated. Again, this was due to their institutional differences, but also the historical relationship to Kosovo and the proximity of Kosovo to Europe. It becomes clear that academic distinctions between realist and liberal approaches are blurred in practice, as policymakers grasp onto aspects of both to argue for similar policies. Still, as Kosovo’s case became marred with problems and dead-locked, the overall aims of transatlantic peacebuilding in Kosovo became decidedly less ambitious and in a sense more realist in character.