Statehood without an army: the question of the Kosovo Armed Force

ABSTRACT

Almost a decade after its declaration of independence, Kosovo continues to depend on NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) for its protection. This article explores why Kosovo has not developed its own armed forces and how it could complete the process of security institution building through the establishment of a Kosovo Armed Force (KAF) in the future. Conceptually, the article highlights the role of different agents with diverging positions on the development of a KAF and the unfolding politicization of the issue, under conditions of legal uncertainty. The empirical analysis traces the stalemate regarding the creation of a KAF to legal restraints and the diverging positions of different parties on the issue. More specifically, the government’s inability to balance between the high expectations of Kosovo Albanians and the adamant objections of Kosovo Serbs has exacerbated the politicization of the debate.

KEYWORDS:

• Kosovo
• statehood
• Security Sector Reform
• Kosovo Security Force
• Kosovo Armed Force
• constitutional amendment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

Research for this article was partly funded by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) within the framework of the project ‘Building knowledge of new statehood in Southeast Europe’.

Notes on contributor

Giorgos Triantafyllou is a research fellow at the South-East Europe Programme of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). Giorgos holds a PhD in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent, UK, with a particular focus on the provision of military and human security during peacebuilding operations. His main research interests are: International Relations and International Security, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Security Sector Reform, International Institutions and Peace Operations, International Security and Migration, Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, NATO, the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.