عنوان

Institution building in Kosovo :

Number

TLets511797

Title Proper

Institution building in Kosovo :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Monteux, Camille

Title Proper by Another Author

the role of international actors and the question of legitimacy

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2009

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Text preceding or following the note

2009

Text of Note

This thesis argues that establishing legitimacy, both in relation to the international community and in relation to local populations, is a critical precondition for the success of international missions in post-conflict situations. The argument is developed through a study of post-conflict institution-building in Kosovo. In 1999, when the Security Council established the United Nations Administrative Mission in Kosovo, the international community had a unique opportunity to develop conflict management mechanisms capable of responding to the contemporary challenges posed by ethnic conflicts. By acting under the United Nations umbrella, the international community could have sent a strong message to the deeply divided population of Kosovo: this mission had the ability to protect them and provide them with institutional structures capable of sustaining long-term economic, political and social peace and stability. Yet the international actors failed to do so. They failed to grant the Kosovo population the security they so dearly needed, and they failed to construct institutions appropriate to the challenges faced by the territory. This thesis argues that this occurred because of the international community's inability to provide legitimacy for their actions and policies. As the different actors focused their attention on attempting to secure legitimacy vis à vis the international community, they failed to nurture the roots of the new political system they wished to establish by obtaining the support of Kosovo's population as a whole. After developing a working concept of legitimacy, I analyse the degree and nature of legitimacy of the different international actors, and their policies at each stage that led to the establishment of a new political system in Kosovo. Through this analysis, I provide an explanation for the failure of the international community to offer a satisfactory and sustainable solution to the Kosovo issue.

JN Political institutions (Europe)

Monteux, Camille

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y