The Post-Communist State Era and Its Impact on Sovereignty: A Case Study of Kosovo

Abstract

Many theoretical perspectives have touched on the concept of sovereignty, but the need for more sovereignty-based discussion in relation to the postcommunist era still exists. The question of sovereignty and its survival in the post-communist era touches on some general features such as the attributes, signs, properties, and conditions of the concept of sovereignty that have evolved. In the case of Kosovo, the issue of sovereignty can be linked to two distinct features, namely democracy and human rights. For Kosovo to be a sovereign state, it had a mandatory prerequisite to fulfil these two features. These features implied the fulfi lment of two criteria, in the forms of legality and legitimacy and, in reality, these two criteria stem from the will of the people. This refl ection shows that sovereignty in the post-communist era had to be in line with respect for human rights as a feature of the principles of democracy. However, the transition from the communist system to democracy was not an easy one. In this regard, Kosovo has come a long way in achieving sovereignty and managed to be declared a sovereign state in 2008. The conditioning of Kosovo’s sovereignty by the above criteria represents the influence of the post-communist era, and its earlier form differs from the prevailing form of absolute sovereignty as it existed, for example, in the former federations of Russia and Yugoslavia. Kosovo’s sovereignty is reflected in accordance with the will of the majority of over ninety-five percent of the country’s population. Moreover, in Kosovo, minorities have privileges, such as positive discrimination and the special right that constitutional changes on vital issues pertaining to those minorities cannot be made without their vote. However, in the post-communist era, it was not possible to democratise all sovereign states. Some states focused on the power and manner of expanding power in their respective territories and fought for the recognition of reconfigured sovereignty at the expense of justice and rights. Therefore, since the post-communist period, the defi nition, content, and character of sovereignty has been in debate, with a new dimension of respect for human rights as a major talking point and as an essential mark of the principle of democracy.