Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

International Statebuilding and Contentious Universities in Kosovo

2011; Routledge; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17502977.2011.541784

1750-2985

Nina den Boer, Chris van der Borgh,

Peace and Human Rights Education

Abstract This article discusses the politics of international administration and ownership in Kosovo, examining the case of the rebuilding of the higher education system in the period 1999–2007. It looks at the practice of international administration, analysing both the efforts of international actors to rebuild the Kosovar university system and the responses of local actors resisting and deeply influencing this process. A fine-grained reconstruction of the role of the UN administration in the process of building a new inter-ethnic university system in Kosovo reveals that local and international actors negotiated and dealt with each other, creating in the process an institutional structure that reflects the fundamental tensions and lack of consensus between the different stakeholders. The paper also argues that a mechanical view of the concept of ownership is not helpful, and that even in cases of international administration local actors are 'co-owners', who have a great influence on international plans and projects. It concludes that although the UN played an intrusive role in the process, the mission did not manage to achieve its goals. Keywords: KosovoUNMIKrebuilding of higher education systemstatebuilding Acknowledgements We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benedek, Institute for International Law and International Relations, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz and Yannick du Pont, Director of Spark, Amsterdam, as well as two anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Notes 1. This was for instance the case with the police reforms in Central America in the 1990s, as well as the building of armies in for instance Afghanistan and DRC. See for the case of Central America, van der Borgh (2004, p. 123) and for Afghanistan, Suhrke (2009, pp. 241–242). 2. A large number of lecturers from the University of Pristina found employment in the newly founded University of Tetovo in Macedonia. 3. Interview with Xhavit Rexhaj, former Head of Higher Education, MEST, 20 March 2007, Pristina. 4. For an analysis of UNMIK's problems see Yannis (2004). 5. Interview with OSCE official, Pristina, 23 March 2007. 6. http://www.unmikonline.org/1styear/jias.htm [Accessed 4 July 2007]. 7. E-mail correspondence with Michael Daxner, former UNMIK PIO, 13 July 2007. 8. Crighton et al. (2001, p. 12) also reports many cases of discrimination against other non-Albanian students. 9. E-mail correspondence with Michael Daxner, former UNMIK PIO, 13 July 2007. 10. Interview with Yannick du Pont, SPARK, Amsterdam, 5 June 2007. 11. On 14 July 2001. See http://www.serbia-info.com/news/2001-08/03/24889.html [Accessed 6 July 2007]. 12. For the text of the document, see: http://www.mfa.gov.yu/Policy/Priorities/KIM/unmik_e.html [Accessed 7 August 2009]. 13. For the text of the document, see: http://www.unmikonline.org/regulations/admdirect/2002/ADE2002_02.pdf [Accessed 7 August 2009]. 14. In 2005, the position of PIO was replaced by 'head of the UNMIK Ministry Office' within MEST. 15. See especially Chapter 8 of the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government. Available online at: http://www.unmikonline.org/constframework.htm#1 [Accessed 7 August 2009]. 'Communities' refers to the minorities in Kosovo, most notably the Serbs. 16. Interview with Xhavit Rexhaj, former Head of Higher Education MEST, 20 March 2007, Pristina. 17. The report, dated 9 October 2002, can be found at: http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/reports/2002/sgrep02.htm [Accessed 12 July 2009]. 18. Executive Decision 2002/15 in December 2002. An Executive Decision can be promulgated by the SRSG in Kosovo and has the power of a legal act. 19. Interview with OSCE official, Pristina, 23 March 2007. 20. Interview with Naim Rashiti, ICG, Pristina, 22 March 2007. 21. For more information on the riots, see ICG (2004). 22. The Serbian Association of Universities and the Student Union of Serbia requested the Minister of Education to revoke her decision, stressing that it harmed Serbian students and professors. The EUA also strongly objected to the political interference by Belgrade in the university's autonomy (EUA 2004). The EU approached Prime-Minister Kostunica in July 2004. The Council of Europe and the Magna Charta Observatory also intervened (Daxner 2004, p. 3). 23. Interview with OSCE official, Pristina, 23 March 2007. 24. Interview with Steffen Felbrich and Pierre Weber, UNMIK, Pristina, 20 March 2007. 25. UNMIK issued a new licence for Mitrovica, despite the fact that, formally, UNMIK was no longer in charge of education policy. The mission stressed, though, that a broad consultation process had taken place, because education was a transferred competency on which it did not want to take decisions alone. 26. Interview with Steffen Felbrich and Pierre Weber, UNMIK, Pristina, 20 March 2007. 27. According to an OSCE official, the final version of the Executive Decision did not resemble the version of the people who had originally initiated the document. 28. See http://www.eua.be/eua-membership-and-services/join-eua/members-directory/.