Statebuilding without Exit Strategy in Kosovo: Stability, Clientelism, and Corruption

Abstract:This paper argues that political stability was the main paradigm of the UN administrative mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). UNMIK has pursued this goal at the expense of democratization, economic development, and a clear vision for Kosovo. An insistence on working with local political elites with the aim of maintaining stability has greatly empowered these elites, at the cost of democratic consolidation. As a mission that has operated with an open-ended mandate and without an exit strategy, UNMIK co-opted the local political elites and gave tacit approval to their client-patron logic of governance and corruptive affairs in exchange for achieving what we call "negative stability" and postponing a final resolution of Kosovo's political status. In the period following the country's independence and European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) deployment, the same political elites consolidated their power and continued to build their clientelist networks and avoid public accountability. The paper concludes that despite massive investments, EULEX, like UNMIK, has prioritized stability at the cost of democratization.