US Policy toward Kosovo: Sowing the Wind in the Balkans, Reaping the Whirlwind in the Caucasus

For the past decade, the United States has been promoting national transformation in the Balkans. In pushing the independence of Kosovo, Washington policy makers apparently believed that Serbia would acquiesce, most nations would recognize the newest independent state, and Russia would accept Americ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mediterranean quarterly 2009, Vol.20 (1), p.15-30
Main Author: Bandow, Doug
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Balkan States
Conflict
European History
European Studies
Foreign Policy
Foreign relations
Georgia
Georgia (Republic of)
Georgia, Transcaucasia
Hegemony
History
Independence
International politics
International relations
Kosovo
Political history
Political Science
Politics
Russia
Russian Federation
Sovereignty
Transcaucasia
U.S.A
United States
United States of America
War
World order
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Summary:For the past decade, the United States has been promoting national transformation in the Balkans. In pushing the independence of Kosovo, Washington policy makers apparently believed that Serbia would acquiesce, most nations would recognize the newest independent state, and Russia would accept America's decision. None of these assumptions came to pass. Unfortunately, the war in the Caucasus was an inadvertent consequence of US policy in the Balkans. The West acted contrary to international law, violated the sovereignty of another state, and carelessly sacrificed the interests of neighboring states. The point is not that Russia acted correctly or legitimately in Georgia but that American policy makers must learn that actions have consequences, even actions by the US government. They need look no further than from Kosovo to Georgia. Doug Bandow is the Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author of
ISSN:1047-4552
1527-1935
DOI:10.1215/10474552-2008-032