ABSTRACT
Contrary to mainstream institutionalist views on statehood, which perceive the existence of states as a priority to our practices, this chapter demonstrates that state-becoming, including diplomatic recognition and membership in international bodies, takes place through performative practices that comprises patterned and/or discarded routines, repetition, practices, and spontaneous activities. The chapter has demonstrated that statehood needs to be performed if a new state wants to challenge the existing global order and join the states making up international society. Seen from the perspective of performativity, diplomatic recognition is not a single political act, but a complex and multi-stage process not entirely driven by strategy and rationality, but a by-product of situational prudence and contingency. This chapter first explores the process of diplomatic recognition to disentangle the core stages, efforts, and tactics which Kosovo had to deploy to secure bilateral recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations. It then examines Kosovo’s performative diplomacy for participating in and becoming a member of international organisations.
