The Challenges of Policing Ethnic Minority Communities in Post-Conflict Kosovo

Abstract

Inter-ethnic violence has plagued many areas of the globe, but not many regions have been impacted by the level of violence and atrocity that has been documented during the conflicts following the collapse of the Yugoslavian Republic. In particular, the clash between Serbian Christians and Muslim Albanians in the Serbian region of Kosovo resulted in international military intervention and the rare incidence of United Nations governance in that previously unsettled area. As a direct result, a fully functional criminal justice sector and ethnically balanced Kosovo Police now serve the region. But these efforts have not come without regional geo-political differences and disagreement. The recent initiatives undertaken by the Kosovo government and police to enhance inter-ethnic relations have been outlined in detail.