KOSOVO AND SOUTH OSSETIA CRISIS Similarities – Differences - Consequences

Data regarding Kosovo’s Crisis

South Ossetia Crisis

Similarities of both Crises 1.The legal basis of the Kosovo issue coincides with the South Ossetia issue. 2.Kosovo is part of the Balkan area, while South Ossetia of the Caucasus region. Both constitute two of the most unstable regions worldwide. 3.Both issues are crises of long standing with armed conflicts, tensions and some relatively peaceful times. 4.Both provinces succeeded in gaining their independence only through their unilateral declaration. 5.During some periods of both crises, some of the UN Security Council permanent members didn’t agree on a resolution. 6.In both provinces, external armed forces intervened in favor of the ethnic community claiming its independence.

Differences between both crises a.In Kosovo crisis we had a UN Security Council Resolution (1244), while in South Ossetia’s crisis we didn’t have any resolution. b.Peacekeeping force in Kosovo fulfilled efficiently its mission, while in South Ossetia didn’t achieve in preventing the conflicts in August c.South Ossetia has an extremely limited population, while there are many UN state-members with equal or smaller to Kosovo’s population. d.NATO intervened in Kosovo’s conflicts citing humanitarian reasons, while Russia intervened in the fighting of August 2008 in order to protect the Ossetians. e.Kosovo was recognized by 62 of the 192 UN member States. On the contrary, South Ossetia was recognized only by 3 countries.

Consequences a.The Kosovo and South Ossetia Crisis put the UN to the test and demonstrated its weakness. b.The legal basis for the both Crisis showed International Law ambiquity and the need for further development of its provisions. c.South Ossetias’s crisis brought to the front the energy security issue, raised many issues for the EU and affected greatly USA and Russia’s relations. d.The Kosovo and South Ossetia’s final status will set a precedent for many open issues with the some legal basis. e.Some USA’s friends and allies shall reconsider their belief that the superpower may guarantee any of their geostrategic aspirations.

Conclusion a.Today, there are open issues of geostrategic interest, leading sometimes to crises that need management. b.UN shows signs of weakness while International Law needs to complete and clarify its provisions. c.Effective crisis management requires: application of current International legitimary, great caution and experience exploitation from the past.