An Empirical Study of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in a Post-Conflict Country: The Kosovo Case

Abstract

The United Nations under the Department of Peacekeeping Operations frequently engages in post-conflict society in order to create the conditions to sustain peace in a country torn by conflict or war. A crucial component of the durability of peace within a post-conflict country is the rule of law, a component where legal and judicial institutions are believed to be of vital importance for continued progression of peace, security, and development. There is little literature that empirically examines whether the UN has improved the rule of law in a post-conflict country and if so, which procedures have been used for concluding that there was or was not an improvement. This is particularly so with regards to the 1999 former Yugoslavia and Kosovo international armed conflict.

This study tries to gather the available data to determine whether UN peacekeeping mission in the Balkan region including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, has had positive effects on the quality of the rule of law, with specific consideration within the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo context. Using matching analysis and legal rationalization in order to find a positive or a negative direction, this study aims to find evidence that UN peacekeeping mission influenced the rule of law after the 1999 former Yugoslavia and Kosovo international armed conflict.

Keywords: United Nations Peace-keeping mission, Kosovo-former Yugoslavia conflict, rule of law, improvement.