Publications
Articles, publications, books, tools and multimedia features from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest news, analysis, research findings, practitioner guides and reports, all related to the conflict zones and issues that are at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and reduce violent conflict.
Question And Answer
Amid a Changing Global Order, NATO Looks East
The Future of Kosovo
Congressional Testimony by Dan Serwer, director of the Balkans Initiative.
Kosovo Decision Time: How and When?
Kosovo today is an international protectorate created by UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which foresees establishment of substantial autonomy and self-governance under the aegis of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) followed by a decision on final status. In the three and a half years since the NATO/Yugoslavia war, officials have generally avoided discussion of Kosovo final status and sought to postpone the decision foreseen in resolution 1244. At the same time, pressures are building and ...
Lawless Rule Versus Rule of Law in the Balkans
This report integrates the results of three related efforts. Case studies of Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo examine how political extremists, intelligence and security forces, and organized criminal enterprises formed enduring power structures during the 1990s that instigated war and persist in obstructing peace.
Simulating Kosovo: Lessons for Final Status Negotiations
This report is based on the outcome of three simulations of Kosovo final status negotiations conducted by the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG).
Kosovo Final Status: Options and Cross-Border Requirements
Summary Kosovo's final status, left undecided at the end of the Yugoslavia-NATO war in June 1999, will need to be discussed sooner than the international community anticipates; a roadmap will need to be drawn and the issue decided within the next three to five years. This discussion should begin with an examination of a wide range of options, including those described and evaluated in Part II of this report.
Minorities and Refugees Web Links
Below are links by topical categories to resources primarily in English on issues regarding minority rights and refugee returns, with a focus on returning refugees to areas in the former Yugoslavia. For related web links, see Regional Resources: Europe. General Resources Government Agencies and International Organizations Maps and Guides Media and News Sources Research Centers and Resources Selected Documents and Peace Agreements These links complement two I...
Taking Stock and Looking Forward: Intervention in the Balkans and Beyond
Ten years of intervention in the Balkans—beginning with European monitors in 1991, extending through the ill-fated humanitarian efforts of the UN Protection Force in Bosnia (1992–95), to the current multi-purpose interventions in Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), and Macedonia (2001)—have provided the most extensive post–Cold War experience in international community efforts to stabilize a conflict zone. Where do the Balkans stand now? What more needs to be done there? What has been learned? What...
Transatlantic Relations In the Aftermath of Kosovo
Summary The NATO intervention in Kosovo reinforced ongoing trends in the alliance such as the establishment of a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) and the growing gap in military capabilities between Europe and the United States. At the same time, the crisis in Kosovo marked a turning point for Europe, which acknowledged that violence and conflict were no longer acceptable in the "new" Europe--even on its periphery.
Balkan Returns: An Overview of Refugee Returns and Minority Repatriation
Summary In spite of the provisions spelled out in the peace agreements that concluded the Yugoslav wars, the number of minority returns throughout the former Yugoslavia is still low, indicating that there are considerable barriers to repatriation. The failure to draw refugees back to their towns and villages threatens the reconstruction of civic life, hinders the process of reconciliation and postpones the permanent conclusion of hostilities. The return of minorities is a regional m...
De-Balkanizing the Balkans: Security and Stability in Southeastern Europe
Summary In the aftermath of the Kosovo conflict, Southeastern Europe is at a crossroad. Today's historic opportunity is to create a zone of security and stability in a region that has known little of either. Otherwise, the Balkans will become a permanent black hole in the heart of Europe. The governments of Southeastern Europe, having responded positively to the West's call for cooperation during the conflict--in most cases against their own public opinion--and having incurred subst...