Kosovo: An Analysis on State-building and the Role of EU and International Actors

With the development of internationally led state-building, external actors increased their willingness to exercise authority and intervene in the domestic affairs of countries, with peace being the end goal. However, many scholars analyzing the state-building process point out recurring problems and shortcomings resulting from externally assisted state-building. States in fragile situations and hybrid political orders tend to exhibit issues of legitimacy that pose a fundamental challenge to the state-building process. The thesis analyzes the conflicting sources of legitimacy through the role of international and domestic actors in the state-building process in Kosovo. The methodological approach used is an analysis of the two most comprehensive peace- and state-building missions in Kosovo – the UNMIK and EULEX. Hence, the thesis explores the correlation between the presence of influential actors and their stakes and agendas and Kosovo’s political elites as constellations of power. The results show that external actors working in fragile contexts need to invest more effort in acquiring a detailed understanding of the local sources of legitimacy, rather than creating a false appearance of change in their efforts to build the newest ‘state-in-waiting’ in Europe.