Democracy and the Rights of Non-Majority Communities at the Local Level in Kosovo (original) (raw)
Related papers
2018
Among many national minorities in Kosovo, there is one that is more protected and that enjoys more rights compared to the others. According to the Kosovo Constitution, The Republic of Kosovo is a multi-ethnic society consisting of Albanian and other Communities, governed democratically with full respect for the rule of law through its legislative, executive and judicial institutions. Based on this definition Kosovo is multi-ethnic which is composed of many communities but in practice one ethnic community is more equal compared to the others. It as an ethnic community appears to be the biggest obstacle for the future developments in Kosovo. The attitudes of this ethnic community for the state of Kosovo determines the Kosovo inner developments; it determines the relationships between Kosovo and Serbia and it could have some impact in the entire region of the Balkans. Using the combined methodology with method of historical analysis, method of legal analysis, method of comparison analysis, method of systemic analysis, the author will describe and explain the position of national communities known as minorities with the specific emphasis on the position of Serbian Minority in Kosovo according to the Kosovo legal system and the international law.
The position of minorities in the new state of Kosovo
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, 2020
Although the Republic of Kosovo is a multi-ethnic society based on its 2008 Constitution, one particular minority is more protected and enjoys more rights compared to the others. It is the ethnic Serb community that appears to be the biggest obstacle for the future developments in Kosovo. The attitude of this ethnic community towards the state of Kosovo determines the Kosovo inner developments; it determines the relationships between Kosovo and Serbia and it could have some impact in the entire region of the Balkans. Using the combined methodology with methods of historical analysis and a method of legal analysis the author will describe and explain the position of the national communities known as minorities, including the position of Serbian minority in Kosovo according to the Kosovo legal system and the international law. Minorities enjoy constitutional protection of their rights, whereas the Serb community and its position are different compared to the other minorities. The different position of Serb minority derives in some way from the obligations Kosovo has taken from the international community, especially from the obligations that come from the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement. This paper gives an analysis of the legal infrastructure in order to explore if the existing legal infrastructure substantially ensures the minority rights and if it ensures their protection. The conclusions of the paper aim to contribute to the academic debate and the practical work in the field.
LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN KOSOVO
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, 2023
Community development is vitalin networking and creating social capital. Local governments in Kosovo cooperate closely with their communities by offering public and social services, inclusivity, and social integration. This cooperation increases active citizenship, community development, social welfare, and local democracy. This paper aims to research and analyze the relationship between local governments and their communities, focusingon providingsocial services. The applied methodology included a quantitative survey of 300 respondents from three municipalities: Pristina, Fushe Kosove, and Obilic, targeting citizens aged 18 and above of both genders. The results show that local authorities in these municipalities offer community services and include their communities in policy-makingand decision-making. While they also offer social services, community-based services should be restructured, and local authorities should pay more attention to empowering the community more comprehensively. Keywords: Local Government; Community; Social Services; Delivery; Kosovo
Kosovo: Grassroots local initiatives – an overview, chances and challenges
SÜDOSTEUROPA-GESELLSCHAFT, 2018
The civic sector, as generally agreed among practitioners, constitutes the third sector within a society which serves as a bridge between citizens, public and private sector for the purpose of reorienting economic development centered around citizens. As such the mission of civic sector is vital to any society and can surely and strongly contribute to the development of a healthy and participatory democracy. Being the “third sector”, civil society represents a strong actor which is not officially part of the state, not distributing profits to shareholders, self-governing and in control of its own affairs where voluntarism takes a great importance. Civil society organizations can surely demand for transparency, hold governments accountable and facilitate or advocate for citizen’s needs and demands to be in the center of policy-making of local and central governments (through structured community dialogue meetings, advocacy strategies, education and empowerment of local citizens, or even through mobilizations of citizens and resources.) As such civil society in general and grassroots in particular are believed to be able to enforce political efficacy that among academics has been defined as the ability to influence the political process and community decision making.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT KOSOVO 2004 The Rise of the Citizen: Challenges and Choices
Defining and measuring human development 11 National human development reports 12 Kosovo human development report 13 vii The electoral system in Kosovo Voter trends Political parties, participation, and representation Kosovan context and political parties Better representation or loss of credibility? Enhancing participatory political culture Central decision-making, participation, and representation Consensual decision making88 Key reforms to expand partici pation & representation for human development in Kosovo 89 Expanding participation and representation through government transformation 92 Building alliances in civil society, the media and the private sector for greater citizen participation and representation 95 Promoting a strategy for strengthened democratic governance 97 Notes 99 Bibliography
The Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities: Breaking the Impasse
Through this research study, authors explore the added value of establishing an association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, in line with the Brussels Agreement struck between Kosovo and Serbia in 2013; a particular focus of the study is Kosovo's legal framework on local self-governance. The study also proposes a series of institutions that, when combined and working in concert, will form the backbone of an association of Serb-majority municipalities with the goal of improving local self-government opportunities for Kosovo's Serb community. This research study was published by The European Centre for Minority Issues Kosovo (ECMI Kosovo) and PAX for Peace in June of 2016.
This article examines the extent to which effective political participation can be achieved through minority consultative bodies, and what obstacles and shortcomings can potentially occur in practice. The paper explores the Kosovo case, where a variety of minority consultative bodies were established in recent years to ensure effective minority participation and representation at the highest decision-making levels. It will be argued that despite the prospects of the established legal and institutional framework, these bodies have fallen short in providing a meaningful representation of minority interests and needs in Kosovo. This is largely affected by the intermeshed interests of elites among the majority and minority communities that prioritize their narrow interests to the expense of the developmental and emancipatory needs of marginalized minorities in Kosovo. Hence, a higher commitment and cooperation among the governmental authorities and minority representatives, together with adequate resources are critical for ensuring an effective minority participation in the public sphere.
Minority Rights: An Opportunity for Adjustment of Ethnic Relations in Kosovo?
There is a prevailing perception in Kosovo that minority rights are nothing but ‘ad hoc compromises’ that were paid in return for Kosovo statehood. This paper presents a two-fold argument. First, although Kosovo has ensured the legal entrenchment of ‘group-differentiated rights’ for minority communities in Kosovo, implementation of those rights remains weak. Second, ethnic relations between majority and minority communities living in Kosovo is understood through an essentialist perspective of ethnicity, which encouraged both Albanian and Serbian leaders in Kosovo to take an ethnic approach to politics in order to preserve their power, presenting themselves as the ‘true’ defenders of their ethnic group. This paper concludes that the main impediment to minority communities enjoying the highest democratic standards is not Kosovo’s legislation but its implementation, which illustrates the unwillingness of the political leadership and institutions to meaningfully embrace minority rights as an existential necessity for Kosovo society.
From the Power of Local Authorities to Local Self- Government in Kosovo
Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2015
Local self-government as democratic achievement takes emphasised place on the new legal system of the Republic of Kosovo, which is based on the principles contained in the European Charter of Local Self-Government and other relevant international Conventions, the Constitution and laws of Kosovo, UNMIK Regulations, the President's Ahtisaari Comprehensive Plan and Agreement of Brussels. These are basic resources and legal basis for the organization and functioning of local self-government in Kosovo after the war until today organized at the municipal level. The system of local self-government during this period has passed through a continuous process of reform which is characterized by numerous challenges and major changes that have followed the general process of state-building in Kosovo.