One of the key ingredients to building a democratic nation is unity while accepting diversity and inclusion as an asset, rather than a burden, and the emergence of leaders with a compelling vision for the future of the country. The Republic of Kosovo, a young democracy and new European country which has seen decades of oppression and persecution, conflict and violence, has become a successful democratic and independent country following the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia. From 1974 to 1989 it was one of the Yugoslav federal units. In the 1990s, Kosovo’s elected parliament formed interim state institutions that provided services to the predominantly ethnic Albanian population, raised funds among the diaspora and resisted Serbian occupation through a large-scale civil disobedience movement. In 1998, armed resistance emerged pin the form of an armed group - the Kosovo Liberation Army. In 1999, the conflict escalated, with hundreds of thousands being forcibly displaced, NATO intervening to prevent genocide, and the country being put under UN administration. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence on the basis of a democratic constitution that provides extensive minority rights and inclusion provisions, democratic oversight of the security sector and a strict separation of powers. By 2024, 117 countries have recognized Kosovo as a sovereign subject of international law. Kosovo’s experience as it transitioned to a democratic country and the role the international community played have many lessons for Myanmar.
Find out more in our latest interview by Dr. Marcus Brand, the Head of International IDEA’s Myanmar programme with Ulpiana Lama, the Chief of Mission of the Republic of Kosovo in Thailand.
Read more:
Kosovo’s democracy has come a long way, but it needs support www.idea.int/blog/kosovos-dem...
12 июл 2024
