ABSTRACT
The relationship between Serbia and Kosovo has steered a complicated and awkward course since the latter’s declaration of independence in 2008. Negotiations led by the European Union to end the impasse between the two sides have yielded only meagre results. It has been more than 13 years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Out of the 193 members of the United Nations, 98 have recognised the nascent republic as a sovereign state. The establishment of a functioning democracy in a country plagued by ethnic conflict is a daunting task. In Serbia and Kosovo, many people have lost loved ones, homes and valuable belongings in violent domestic battles with erstwhile friends, neighbours and co-workers because of ethnic, religious or linguistic differences. The popular alternatives entail strong power-sharing mechanisms, which ensure that no single group makes decisions without the involvement of the other groups, deemed the best way to achieve democratisation, decentralisation and identity reconstruction in war-torn societies.
