Abstract

BACKSLIDING IN THE BALKANS

The article discusses the lack of political and social stability in the Balkans. Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned as Kosovo's prime minister, had been expecting his indictment for alleged war crimes for almost three months. Three factors are driving the region toward, at best, damaging civil unrest and, at worst, a revival of armed conflict: a steady, severe economic crisis; the persistence of weak states caught up in an unholy constitutional tangle; and profound incompetence on the part of the international community. The Balkans provide the clearest proof that Western military intervention, whether liberal or illiberal, is a complete waste of time, money and life if it is not accompanied by a coherent, long-term attempt to address the root causes of instability after hostilities have ceased. Kosovo is the only territory in Europe that has recorded a negative growth rate each year since 2002. Overall unemployment stands at 50 percent, while youth unemployment runs at 70 percent.