KOSOVO CRISIS OF 1998-1999

This research paper traces the origins and course of the current dispute in Kosovo and discusses its potential for destabilizing further the Balkans, including the possibility of a wider war in the region, and ways in which tensions there might be heightened or reduced.

The roots of the conflict in Kosovo lie deeply embedded in the histories of the Albanian and Serbian peoples, especially during the occupation of the region by the Ottoman Empire, and tensions and conflicts between them, primarily of an ethno-religious nature, which intensified at periodic intervals during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Those tensions and conflicts have been greatly accentuated by the rise of Serbian ultranationalism after the collapse of communist Yugoslavia and the reactive growth of separatist pressures among the Albanian majority in Kosovo and the broader Greater Albania movement.

Four times in this century, in 1912-1913, 1918-1920, 1941 and 1998-1999, culminating in the recent air war by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against the rump state of Yugoslavia, one or more great powers have imposed or sought to impose solutions to the problem of Kosovo. Previous international efforts not only failed to solve that problem, they exacerbated it. Both the actions of the Yugoslav government since 1987 and the NATO air attacks have had profoundly destabilizing effects on Kosovo and surrounding areas. Regardless of the terms of

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forces defeated Bulgaria's attempt to seize Macedonia, the Serbs initially refused to withdraw from the areas they occupied in northern Albania. According to Zickel and Iwaskiw, "Serbia reluctantly succumbed to an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy to withdraw." The Treaty of Bucharest (1913) confirmed the independence of Albania but left Serbia in charge of Kosovo and divided Macedonia between Serbia and Greece. The Albanians also were dissatisfied with the London partition, which excluded from Albanian territory more than 50 percent of Albanians in the region and "left the country with a deep sense of resentment and hostility to outsiders." World War I and Its Aftermath. In 1915, a joint Austrian-German force defeated the Serbian Army and drove it out of Kosovo into a desperate flight to the sea over the mountains on the Albanian frontier. The survivors were eventually evacuated by the Western Allies from Corfu. West said that in Kosovo, "many of the [Serbian] soldiers and the civilian refugees . . . were butchered by the Moslem Albanians, who . . . bitterly resented the Serbian conquests in the Balkan Wars" and "some were shot by Albanian snipers" as they traversed the 5,000 foot peaks along the border.
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Approximate Word count = 9024
Approximate Pages = 36 (250 words per page)

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