{"title":"Sovereignty Sensitivities and the Kosovo Crisis: The Impact of Domestic Considerations on Canada's Foreign Policy","authors":"Krenare Recaj","doi":"10.3138/cjh-56-2-2020-0076","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:In 1999, Canada participated in NATO's Operation Allied Force, a seventy-eight-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia meant to end the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians. Officially, Canada's interests in developing its foreign policy toward Kosovo were humanitarian and regional stability considerations. These were shared with the rest of its NATO allies. Thus, on the surface, it would seem that Canada and its NATO allies had similar concerns during the decision-making process around Kosovo. Digging deeper, an analysis of the primary sources available suggests that Canada did, in fact, have additional and unique considerations during the Kosovo crisis, namely national unity. This analysis amply illustrates the close interconnection between domestic issues and Canadian foreign policy. During the Kosovo War, Canada had to balance sovereignty sensitivities with humanitarian concerns. From the first time Kosovo was mentioned in Parliament on 18 November 1991 to the end of the Kosovo War on 11 June 1999, Canadian parliamentarians attempted to distinguish what Canada's views on Kosovo were. Historians have likewise been occupied with the same task: distinguishing the Canadian contribution and position. Like the parliamentarians, not one of the Canadian historians who has written on the topic has questioned the official government version of what motivated Canada's policy in Kosovo. They all credit a combination of humanitarian and regional concerns. Therefore, there was consensus at the time, and has been since, about what motivated Canada's policy toward Kosovo. However, an analysis of the primary sources reveals that Canada did in fact have an additional and unique consideration during the Kosovo crisis: national unity. Canada's domestic national unity issue influenced Canadian foreign policy toward Kosovo at every stage.Résumé:En 1999, le Canada a participé à l'opération Force alliée de l'OTAN, une campagne de bombardement de 78 jours contre la Yougoslavie visant à mettre fin au nettoyage ethnique des Albanais du Kosovo. Officiellement, les intérêts du Canada en développant sa politique étrangère envers le Kosovo reposaient sur des considérations humanitaires et de stabilité régionale, lesquelles étaient partagées par ses alliés de l'OTAN. Ainsi, à première vue, le Canada et ses alliés aurait eu des préoccupations semblables au cours du processus décisionnel concernant le Kosovo. Or en y regardant de plus près, des sources primaires disponibles laissent entendre qu'en fait, le Canada avait en outre une autre préoccupation pendant la crise du Kosovo, soit l'unité nationale. La présente analyse illustre amplement les liens entre les questions internes et la politique étrangère du Canada. Pendant la guerre du Kosovo, le Canada a dû trouver un équilibre entre la corde sensible de la souveraineté et les préoccupations humanitaires. Depuis la première mention du Kosovo au Parlement, le 18 novembre 1991, jusqu'à la fin de la guerre, le 11 juin 1999, les parlementaires canadiens ont tenté de distinguer le point de vue du Canada sur le Kosovo. Les historiens qui ont écrit sur l'intervention canadienne dans ce territoire ont poursuivi le même but. À l'instar des parlementaires, ils n'ont pas remis en question, eux non plus, les mobiles de la politique canadienne au Kosovo. Tous y ont vu la combinaison d'un souci humanitaire et de préoccupations régionales. Les facteurs présidant à la politique du Canada au Kosovo ont donc toujours fait consensus, à l'époque comme maintenant. Cependant, l'analyse des sources primaires révèle qu'en fait, le Canada avait une préoccupation qui lui était propre pendant la crise du Kosovo : l'unité nationale. Cette question intérieure a influé sur sa politique étrangère envers le Kosovo à chaque étape.","PeriodicalId":43085,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of History-Annales Canadiennes d Histoire","volume":"56 1","pages":"136 - 165"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal of History-Annales Canadiennes d Histoire","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3138/cjh-56-2-2020-0076","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:In 1999, Canada participated in NATO's Operation Allied Force, a seventy-eight-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia meant to end the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians. Officially, Canada's interests in developing its foreign policy toward Kosovo were humanitarian and regional stability considerations. These were shared with the rest of its NATO allies. Thus, on the surface, it would seem that Canada and its NATO allies had similar concerns during the decision-making process around Kosovo. Digging deeper, an analysis of the primary sources available suggests that Canada did, in fact, have additional and unique considerations during the Kosovo crisis, namely national unity. This analysis amply illustrates the close interconnection between domestic issues and Canadian foreign policy. During the Kosovo War, Canada had to balance sovereignty sensitivities with humanitarian concerns. From the first time Kosovo was mentioned in Parliament on 18 November 1991 to the end of the Kosovo War on 11 June 1999, Canadian parliamentarians attempted to distinguish what Canada's views on Kosovo were. Historians have likewise been occupied with the same task: distinguishing the Canadian contribution and position. Like the parliamentarians, not one of the Canadian historians who has written on the topic has questioned the official government version of what motivated Canada's policy in Kosovo. They all credit a combination of humanitarian and regional concerns. Therefore, there was consensus at the time, and has been since, about what motivated Canada's policy toward Kosovo. However, an analysis of the primary sources reveals that Canada did in fact have an additional and unique consideration during the Kosovo crisis: national unity. Canada's domestic national unity issue influenced Canadian foreign policy toward Kosovo at every stage.Résumé:En 1999, le Canada a participé à l'opération Force alliée de l'OTAN, une campagne de bombardement de 78 jours contre la Yougoslavie visant à mettre fin au nettoyage ethnique des Albanais du Kosovo. Officiellement, les intérêts du Canada en développant sa politique étrangère envers le Kosovo reposaient sur des considérations humanitaires et de stabilité régionale, lesquelles étaient partagées par ses alliés de l'OTAN. Ainsi, à première vue, le Canada et ses alliés aurait eu des préoccupations semblables au cours du processus décisionnel concernant le Kosovo. Or en y regardant de plus près, des sources primaires disponibles laissent entendre qu'en fait, le Canada avait en outre une autre préoccupation pendant la crise du Kosovo, soit l'unité nationale. La présente analyse illustre amplement les liens entre les questions internes et la politique étrangère du Canada. Pendant la guerre du Kosovo, le Canada a dû trouver un équilibre entre la corde sensible de la souveraineté et les préoccupations humanitaires. Depuis la première mention du Kosovo au Parlement, le 18 novembre 1991, jusqu'à la fin de la guerre, le 11 juin 1999, les parlementaires canadiens ont tenté de distinguer le point de vue du Canada sur le Kosovo. Les historiens qui ont écrit sur l'intervention canadienne dans ce territoire ont poursuivi le même but. À l'instar des parlementaires, ils n'ont pas remis en question, eux non plus, les mobiles de la politique canadienne au Kosovo. Tous y ont vu la combinaison d'un souci humanitaire et de préoccupations régionales. Les facteurs présidant à la politique du Canada au Kosovo ont donc toujours fait consensus, à l'époque comme maintenant. Cependant, l'analyse des sources primaires révèle qu'en fait, le Canada avait une préoccupation qui lui était propre pendant la crise du Kosovo : l'unité nationale. Cette question intérieure a influé sur sa politique étrangère envers le Kosovo à chaque étape.
期刊介绍:
The Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d’histoire (CJH/ACH), published by University of Toronto Press, is a peer-reviewed journal of general history publishing in both English and French. Geared to all professional historians, as well as to anyone interested in historical scholarship, it features articles and reviews by experts, and invites contributions from all areas of history. The journal has resisted the trend toward increased specialization and offers an excellent way to keep up with developments across the discipline. The CJH/ACH publishes three issues annually in spring, fall, and winter. While the content of our issues varies seasonally, each issue may contain a maximum of four articles, one or two historiographical review articles, and approximately forty book reviews, including one or two longer “feature reviews,” which typically consider one or two books in somewhat greater depth. Our winter issue regularly features a guest editor and focuses on a specific theme or topic of their choosing.