Assessing Kosovo's Postwar Democratization between External Imposition and Local Self-Government

Jens Narten

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 5卷1期 (2009/07) Pp. 127-162

https://doi.org/10.29654/TJD.200907.0006

並列摘要

Kosovo's democratic system under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the NATO-led Kosovo Force (NATO/KFOR) was almost exclusively determined by outside actors. The building of Kosovo's postwar structures from scratch after 1999 and the role played by UNMIK as the proxy state executive, however, have resulted in a democratization outcome of mixed results.
Kosovo's postwar political system can be regarded as a functioning parliamentary democracy. Yet, the Kosovar polity and society became deeply segregated during the process, leading to ”ethnicized” institutionalization rather than self-sustainable forms of ethnic tolerance and democratization.
The outcome shows the interdependence among postwar democratization processes, security promotion, and local capacity-building. KFOR security guarantees were a prerequisite for a democratic process to be initiated, and UNMIK's ”state” capacities and aid provided a base for local democratic structures. However, the building of democratic institutions does not represent an adequate indicator for a self-sustaining democratization process. The main input would have to come from within Kosovo's society itself; international actors could only assist in this process.

並列關鍵字

Democratization ； democracy promotion ； international administration ； peacebuilding ； statebuilding ； institutionbuilding ； postwar reconstruction ； local self-government ； external intrusiveness ； Kosovo ； Western Balk

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