Regional conflicts in the Western Balkans and in the Caucasus - similarities and differences

September 09, 2010
A Special Report of the World Security Network
Albanian Corespondent SManalysis

"Would independence of Kosovo result in formulation of a political pattern applicable to other disputed regions ?"What binds the Western Balkans to the Caucasus is, among other issues, certainly an extremely challenging legacy of the past. Dissolution of two respective multinational states-- the Soviet Union and Socialist Yugoslavia in the beginning of 1990s-- introduced ethno-nationalist conflicts on large scale. While the Yugoslav crisis ended in 1999 after the Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was bombed by NATO during its Kosovo campaign, the Caucasus still remains a conflict-ridden region where Russian and Western influences keep colliding.

In that respect, the point of this article is to present an analytical comparison of the three respective regional conflicts-- Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia-- by enumerating and analyzing similarities and differences between them as this proves to be one of current and more intriguing issues of the contemporary international political scene. In that respect, the article is aimed at providing answers to two different issues: Did Kosovo's independence influence establishment of a specific political pattern applicable to other disputed regions, and, on the other hand, to what degree are cases in question comparable to each other?

Kosovo's declaration of independence. When Kosovo declared independence in early 2008, voices in international community speaking about this event as having major impact upon modern international relations grew stronger. While ones spoke about devastating effect Kosovo's newly acquired status would bring to the existing international order, others rebuffed such arguments as unfounded and voiced Kosovo's independent status as the only viable solution. For that matter, one question became central to the ongoing dispute:

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