Flaws and Strengths of International Mediation: United Nations Peacekeeping in the Republic of Kosovo

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) is the representative body of the international community. The UN is one of the first responders to interstate and intrastate conflicts. UN Peacekeeping utilizes diplomatic and military tactics to resolve or mitigate disputes. Peacekeeping methods that include persuasion, coercion, and inducement evolve with stages of conflict. Ethnically mobilized conflicts differ from traditional interstate disputes and require more extensive responses focusing on localized state-building. Using the Republic of Kosovo as a case study, the paper explores the history of ethnic strife between Kosovo-Serbs and Kosovo-Albanians. The UN mission in Kosovo displays flaws and strengths within peacekeeping, including institution-building and policing efforts. As the paper concludes, implementing the UN mission in Kosovo deterred significant violence, but reports of heightened tension in 2023 make for renewed concern.