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by Dr. Deborah Bauers

Created on: February 20, 2008

The eyes of the world community are on Kosovo as she becomes the third country to gain her independence in the twenty-first century. But whether they are watching the birth of this new nation in recognition of her newly found right to freedom, or glaring at her in reproach in consideration of a breach of international law, remains in question. More importantly, will Kosovo's declaration of independence serve as a catalyst to motivate other impatient provinces to take steps to declare their own emancipation and right to self-govern?

The United States and several major European world powers have all issued formal statements acknowledging Kosovo's independence from Serbia and commending her for embracing the spirit of democracy. In other parts of the world however, Kosovo's bid to become a sovereign state has met with both growing unease and opposition. Spain, Russian, and China have all voiced criticism of Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia.It's no surprise when one considers that the Mainland of China has historically refused to acknowledge Taiwan's democratic nation and has continued to stifle international trade with Taiwan while greedily eying her as a potential annex to the People's Republic of China. Chechnya's fight for independence and struggle for freedom from Russia is a century old. Meanwhile, the Bosnia Serb Republic has indicated that if Kosovo successfully secedes from Serbia that this might provide the impetus for the Republic to make a move to separate herself from the regions of Bosnia that are not her own.

The Western Balkans has long been a region characterized by a history of political instability, even more so since the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990's. Many fear that Kosovo's declaration will spark further unrest in an area of the world where The European Union has been laying the groundwork to elicit membership of each of these countries. The Western Balkans face the potential for a resurgence of political protest and even civil war in the aftermath of Kosovo's declaration. Simultaneously, the lines of approval and dissent are being drawn by the world community adding further fuel to an already unstable region of the world. Serbian extremists are violently protesting Kosovo's succession, while claiming that she is the "heart" of the country of Serbia. Serbian news agencies are reporting protests in Banja Luka, Capital of the Bosnian Serbe Republic as well.

While the eyes of the world may be watching Kosovo's path to democracy it is unlikely that those provinces chaffing for their own independence will seek to do so in the midst of such potential chaos. Kosovo's democracy is a newborn infant that faces many obstacles on its road to growth and maturity. She is a small nation that is still occupied by the peace-keeping forces of the UN and will likely remain so for some time. Her country currently has a fifty percent unemployment rate. As such, time may reveal that she, like East Timor, her Asian neighbor who gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, will struggle to maintain a democracy in the face of such impoverished demographics. In spite of her newly found independence, Kosovo may not currently be an attractive icon to mirror the birth of freedom to those who would consider emulating her.

References

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http://www.tamilnat ion.org/saty/9810Kos ovo.htm
http://www.ny times.com/2008/02/19 /world/asia/19asia.h tml?
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http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/article.asp ?edition_id=1&categ_ id=5&article_id=8908 1

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