The Higher Lens : 4

What Kosovo Taught the World About Intervention – And What It Forgot

Kosova, a small landlocked country in the Balkans inhabited by a majority ethnic Albanian population (90%), became the final violent and explosive chapter of the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Kosova quickly became a place the world couldn’t ignore or forget. Today, it stands as a young democratic Republic and Europe’s youngest country—but it also serves as a testament to NATO’s legacy. The breakup of Yugoslavia, a multi-ethnic state comprising the Balkan nations, saw Kosova become a significant flashpoint. The repression of the ethnic Albanians by the Milosevic regime proliferated in severity, prompting the Kosovo Albanians to armed resistance through the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Albanian schools and other civil institutions were shut, prompting the Kosovo Albanians to set up their parallel institutions, which included converting private Albanian homes into schools and establishing private civil institutions. Albanians were expelled from their jobs and their rights were stripped, with any opposition punished severely by the Milosevic regime. The passivation and repressive conduct towards the Kosovo Albanians persisted until 1997, when the KLA made its first public appearance at the funeral of Halit Geci, an Albanian teacher who Serb paramilitary and security forces had murdered. A year prior, the KLA claimed responsibility for the successful conduct of a wave of four organised attacks on Serbian forces, targeting Serbian military assets and shifting the collective Albanian resistance movement into a direct, military one. Serbia’s response was devastating, disproportionate, and could only be characterised as a response which sought the gradual extermination of the Albanian populace. Entire villages were cleared, tens of thousands were killed, and over a million were displaced from their homes, many who would never return. Massacres, such as those in Prekaz, Račak, Izbicë, Mejë, and countless others, shifted the response of the international community, making Kosova a place the world could no longer ignore. 

NATO’s commencement of ‘Operation Allied Force’ on 24 March 1999 saw a 78-day aerial bombardment campaign which sought to halt the terror on the ground and weaken the Milosevic regime. This operation, launched without explicit UN approval but with broad international support, forced Milosevic to withdraw his forces and consolidated the end of the war in Kosova, saving thousands of lives and allowing the safe return of refugees. After the war, the help Kosova received from the international community did not stop, being placed under a UN framework after the war, which saw the development of civil and governmental institutions. The conclusive report from the Ahtisaari plan paved the way for Kosova’s independence, based on a multi-ethnic, democratic republic which would be supervised by international monitors such as the ICO, EULEX and UNMIK. Kosova’s declaration of independence on  ebruary 17, 2008, marked a milestone. The collective Albanian resistance and humanitarianism from the international community triumphed over oppression and genocide. Since then, it has flourished as Europe’s youngest democracy, aligning with EU standards and pursuing integration into Euro-Atlantic structures like the EU and NATO to strengthen its sovereignty. However, challenges persist despite the Serbian withdrawal. Major world players, including Russia and China, contest its independence, viewing it as a product of NATO expansionism. Even two decades after the war, Serbia continues its aggressive stance, lobbying against recognition, funding parallel structures that undermine its sovereignty, and sponsoring violent actors violating its rights. This strategy by the Serbian administrations aims to stall Kosova’s progress. The September 2023 Banjska terrorist attack, coordinated by Serbian institutions and resulting in the murder of Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku, starkly reminds us of the challenges posed and NATO's crucial role in maintaining peace. Kosova’s independence wasn’t born from NATO expansionism but rather born out of a thousand-year collective struggle for freedom for the ethnic Albanian population.

Forged through the sacrifices of the Albanians of Kosova, an indigenous populace that endured tyranny from empires and authoritarian regimes, NATO’s intervention prevented genocide. However, NATO and the Western political sphere risk credibility if Serbia’s obstruction continues. The stalling of EU-led dialogue and Serbia's failure to sign agreements normalising relations hinders Kosova’s progress and prolongs regional tensions. NATO’s success demonstrates that inaction during atrocities is morally wrong, leading to greater consequences than intervention. The West can apply this lesson to Ukraine in its fight against Russian imperialism. Kosovo has provided aid to Ukraine, hosted refugees, and trained Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation Interflex in the UK. 

The world must remember Kosovo's success and NATO's intervention. Today, many ethnic Albanians, like me, look up to the officials who favoured intervention and to those who saved our nation from the brink of extermination. Kosova needs the West’s full backing as it progresses as a young democratic and sovereign Republic. NATO helped a nation not only survive, but also begin to thrive and help those who are targeted similarly, like Ukraine, survive.

Diar Bala - UCL Political Science Undergraduate