yugoslavias implosion

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the situation on the ground was promoted, whereby Kosovo would
be divided into two zones; Serbia would lose 12 percent of its territory
by letting Kosovo secede, while an independent Kosovo would
also lose 12 percent by allowing the secession of five municipalities
in the north. 476 Ćosić urged a diplomatic and political struggle for
the revision of the decision on Kosovo’s independence, which, he
claimed, is “unjust and entrenches Serb-Albanian enmity.” 477
Serbia’s strategy in the aftermath of Kosovo’s independence was
to undermine Kosovo’s statehood by strengthening parallel institutions
in Kosovo Serbian areas and by inciting Kosovo Albanians to
react violently and thus damage the international standing of their
state-building project. Among other things, Serbia conducted a vigorous
diplomatic campaign against Kosovo’s recognition by other states
(by the end of 2009 Kosovo was recognized by only sixty-two countries,
with five eu member states deciding not to recognize it). In October
2008, Serbia (with support not only from Russia but also countries such
as Spain with secessionist movements and countries with large ethnic
minorities such as Slovakia) succeeded in ensuring passage of a un resolution
instructing the International Court of Justice at The Hague to
pronounce on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
The situation has been made more complicated by Russia’s continued
support of Serbia, its efforts to discourage recognition of
Kosovo, and its insistence on unmik’s presence in Kosovo. Russia sees
in its alliance with Serbia an opportunity to reassert its influence in
the Balkans arena after a long absence. President Vladamir Putin’s
476 Slobodan Marković, Izlazna strategija Srbije na Kosovu i Metohiji, Hereticus, Vol .V (2007), No .
3–4; see also in the same volume articles by Jovan Trkulja, Jovo Bakić, Slaviša Orlović, Neven
Cvetičanin .
A flood of books, articles and analysis on Kosovo appeared in the wake of Kosovo
declaring its independence . For instance, Milovan Radovanović, Kosovo and Metohija: The
Antrophogeographic and Demographic Foundations (Belgrade: Službeni glasnik, 2008),
argues that “Kosovo is lost, because Serbs in the year 1912 allowed Albanians to remain
in Kosovo instead of removing them and thus lastingly resolve the Albanian issue .”
477 Večernje Novosti, March 22, 2008 .