The politics of recognition: Exploring the arguments behind the recognition of Kosovo

Abstract

Ten years from now Kosovo’s declaration of Independence and the aftermath still constitute an important field for academic explorations. Given the renewed interest towards the secessionist claims to independence, and the practice of state recognition, recognition of Kosovo remains topical, in particular due to the diverse reactions of thirds states. These reactions identify that the gap in international law to regulate the recognition allows the political choices to play out in the decisions of states whether to recognize a newly emerged state or not. Having this in mind, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the argumentations instrumentalized by the states recognizing Kosovo. To achieve the goal, the research, first of all, utilizes a set of theories and concepts combined under the general theoretical framework of the politics of recognition which explains the root causes of the emergence of the politics of recognition i.e. the differing reactions to Kosovo’s independence and allows identifying it in the Kosovo case. Subsequently, with the help of the Qualitative Content Analysis, the research identifies the emergence of the politics of recognition. Also, it indicates the importance of the Earned Sovereignty scheme, in line with considerations for “Regional Peace and Stability” and “EU/NATO perspective” in the recognition statements. It holds, that the theory should consider and explore further the explanatory power of those themes which were identified in a data-driven way.