The Implications of the Foreign Powers' Foreign Policies in Ethnic Conflicts of Serbia and Kosovo

Abstract

This thesis examines the implications of foreign powers' policies in ethnic conflicts. The European Union, the United States, Turkey, and Russia will be studied in ethnic conflicts, particularly Serbia and Kosovo. The thesis has been written in 2023 (started in 2022), with a lot of events surrounding it: the EU and US initiatives in taking the ongoing war in Ukraine to reduce Serbia’s dependency on Russia, as well as decrease the Russian influence in the region. These events in Ukraine have been affecting the development of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. In addition, the internal crisis in the European Union has been paralleled with those initiatives for Serbia’s and Kosovo’s integration and future enlargement. All of these aspects are to be tested in a larger context that considers the historical and current economic, political, cultural, and security elements of the situation: the Turkish foreign policy in Kosovo and its contribution to the rise of radicalization and extremism and the Russian role in Serbia and how it affects the future of normalization between Serbia and Kosovo. The study will highlight the role of populism in Europe and the far-right wing in Serbia in supporting Russia; thus, threatening the EU internally and externally. The thesis uses the economic, domestic, and international levels of analysis in examining the issue for understanding the implications of these foreign policies on the future of relations as well as on the EU's security and stability.