What are the effects of Kosovo's independence?

On Sunday, February 17, 2008, a historic event occurred in Eastern Europe. After years of ethnic conflict and repression by Serbia, Kosovo’s Parliament officially declared its independence as a sovereign nation. However, like a stone that falls into a pool of water, the effects of this action have had rippling effects across the world. Perhaps one of the most notable effects of Kosovo’s independence is the recall by the Serbian government of the Serbian ambassador to the United States because of the United States’ recognition of Kosovo. As the Sydney Morning Herald of February 18, 2008 reports, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told his parliament: “The government of Serbia ordered that the ambassador of Serbia in Washington urgently withdraw to Belgrade.” Quite obviously, this declaration of independence by Kosovo is controversial, and its effects are severe. Given this pretext, we must ask ourselves the crucial question, “What are the effects of Kosovo’s independence?” The answer to this question is threefold. First, Kosovo’s independence has renewed tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. Second, Kosovo’s independence has created international conflict over the recognition of Kosovo. Lastly, Kosovo’s independence will reduce the efficiency of the United Nations.

First, Kosovo’s independence has renewed tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. According to the Associated Press of February 18, 2008, Kosovo’s declaration of independence has incited much protest by the Serbians, who see Kosovo as part of Serbia. Serbs in Kosovo, such as those in the divided town of Mitrovica, protested Kosovo’s independence in the streets. Similar protests took place in other Serb-dominated towns of Kosovo, which is comprised mainly of ethnic Albanians. Furthermore, protests took place in Serbia over Kosovo. The Angence French Presse of February 18, 2008 reports that around 800 to 1,000 Serbian youth smashed windows of stores and attacked the US and Slovenian Embassies this Sunday over Kosovo’s declaration of independence; Serbia had to send riot police armed with tear gas to stop the violence. Nevertheless, the government of Serbia is also displeased over Kosovo’s independence. The Prime Minister of Serbia Vojislav Kostunica has told the press that Kosovo is still part of Serbia in his country’s eyes and that they would never recognize Kosovo: “As long as Serbs exist, Kosovo is Serbia.” The BBC of February 18, 2008 further notes that Serbia’s three political parties unified over their disproval of Kosovo’s declaration of independence and “in a rare show of unity, the leaders of the three main political parties in Belgrade agreed to call for a mass demonstration in the capital [this[] Thursday to show the widespread opposition to independence.” Luckily, the Washington Post of the same date reports that Serbia has ruled out any military action on its part. Clearly, Kosovo’s independence has renewed tensions between Kosovo and Serbia

Second, Kosovo’s independence has created international conflict over the recognition of Kosovo. The Associated Press of February 18, 2008 reports that Kosovo’s independence has sparked discussion around the world regarding whether or not to recognize Kosovo. While the United States immediately backed Kosovo, Russia and China joined sides with Serbia to refuse to acknowledge Kosovo. Because of the United States’ position on this matter, tensions between the United States and China and Russia have increased and Serbia has recalled its ambassador from the US. Furthermore, relations between China and Taiwan have been strained by this event after Taiwan stated that it was ready to give recognition to Kosovo. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Liu Jianchao stated to the China Daily about Taiwan that “The world knows that as part of China, Taiwan has no right and qualification to make the so-called recognition.” The New York Times of February 18, 2008 reports that Russia stated that if Kosovo can be declared free, then so can Abkhazia and South Ossetia , two Russia-backed separatist areas in Georgia, and hinted that it might recognize their independence if Western countries recognized Kosovo. The Russian Parliament released a statement that “the right of nations to self-determination cannot justify recognition of Kosovo’s independence along with the simultaneous refusal to discuss similar acts by other self-proclaimed states, which have obtained de facto independence exclusively by themselves.” The European Union was not so black and white on the issue. The Voice of America of February 18, 2008 points out that the EU could not reach a conclusion on recognition and thus decided to let each member decide the matter on themselves. Thus, it is clear that Kosovo’s independence has created serious controversy for the world.

Lastly, Kosovo’s independence has reduced the efficiency of the United Nations. Due to the polarizing nature of Kosovo’s independence, both Portugal and Malta have declared their difference on the issue to the UN. However, as the Ottawa Citizen of February 18, 2008 reports, despite Canada and Russia both launching an emergency session of the UN to discuss the issue, no conclusion could be made. Panama, which currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency stated that the Security Council is divided on the issue: “Some members consider it ‘an illegal act in contravention of resolution 1244’, while others consider it ‘a legitimate act’.” The Voice of America of February 18, 2008 reports that Germany, Britain, France and Italy have followed the United States in saying they would recognizing Kosovo's independence. Poland, Austria, and Sweden are willing to follow suit as well. However, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Romania, and Slovakia have refused to acknowledge Kosovo. The problem with such a rift in opinion is that such differences on a heated issue will spill into other conflicts in the United Nations. Political analysts at the Associated Press of February 18, 2008 predict that Russia’s particularly passionate disapproval of Kosovo’s independence and heated discouragement of US recognition will affect Russia’s stance to Iran, which has recently been slightly more favorable to the US in the past few months. Clearly, the diplomatic rift caused by Kosovo’s independence will hurt the functionality of the UN, as member state’s use diplomatic leverage against each other to prevent each other from getting what they want.

Kosovo’s independence is a touchy issue for many. To the United States, it is vindication for all the injustices suffered during the 1990s. The French government calls this move by Kosovo a victory for common sense. However, other nations around the world are afraid that such an action by Kosovo will incite the separatist movements in their own region. Thus, when asking the question, “What are the effects of Kosovo’s independence?” we see that the answer is threefold: first, it has increased tensions between Kosovo and Serbia; second, it has sparked international conflict; and lastly, it has reduced the efficiency of the UN. One chapter in Kosovo's history may have now closed, but the story is far from over.