ABSTRACT
Local ownership is one of the predominant concepts in international development. Its conceptual relevance is fiercely contested, however, in the practice of Kosovo’s statebuilding. This chapter will examine externally driven models in some phases of the development of Kosovo’s security sector, by examining a set of examples that led to international interference at the expense of local demands. The existing contribution in the field finds the international community obsessed about its responsibility for security, which will leave the sustainability of the security sector compromised by the time the international mission leaves the country. Consequently, the international community apparently disregarded the local context, which eventually led to the alienation of the local constituencies and created distrust between them and local actors. Building a more sustainable security sector would entail efforts to develop institutions based on real risk and threat assessments rather than “high politics” and “exaggerated stability”. The chapter relies on extensive face-to-face interviews with relevant national and international stakeholders, a public opinion survey on a sample of 1,102 respondents, focus groups and personal observation.
