Kosovo: U.S. Policy Measures for Stabilization, Peace Building, and Economic Reconstruction

A year after Operation Allied Force, proponents and critics of current U.S. strategy in Kosovo disagree over its effects to date and the level of commitment required to secure U.S. interests. While successes have occurred, serious issues remain. This essay offers insights into the dilemmas and challenges facing the national security strategy to achieve stability and security in Kosovo. While focusing on the application of economic power toward stabilization and reconstruction, this paper demonstrates that economic objectives in Kosovo are inextricably linked to security and political objectives. It first provides an overview of the political, security, and economic environment. It then proceeds to outline international and regional approaches to integrate Kosovo and the rest of the region into a more stable Europe. The essay next identifies and examines specific U.S. political, economic, and military policies. Finally, in evaluating U.S. interests in Kosovo and possible alternative strategies to secure them, this essay provides recommendations to strengthen U.S. policy. U.S. policies for post-crisis Kosovo must aim to secure not only economic stabilization and growth but also the consolidation of peace and security. A strategy that fails to build on the powerful interrelation among these economic, political, and security objectives will ultimately fail to achieve any of them. While this farsightedness may seem a tall task for Kosovars, the regional and international institutions, and U.S. peacemakers and economic policy makers who support them, the charge can be no less.