OSCE Securitization and De-securitization-The Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue

Using Regional Security Complex Theory, this paper examines the role of the OSCE in securitizing and de-securitizing actors in developing Kosovo-Serbia relations. The research is based on an analysis of official documents collected at the archives of the OSCE Documentation Center in Prague. In this regard, the contribution provides an in-depth analysis of developments in Kosovo within the OSCE context starting from 1995, when the OSCE was established, until 2001, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was welcomed once again as an OSCE participating State. This period is contrasted against that of more recent positive developments in Kosovo starting from 2015, when Serbia was the first Western Balkan country to Chair the OSCE, until 2020, and the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship. This research investigates the role that the regional actors, namely the USA, the EU and the Russian Federation, played in enhancing or not Kosovo’s domestic developments. This study intends to bring to light the progress made on Kosovo’s path to democratization by highlighting the controversy in relation to its ongoing struggle to have a seat at the table of the OSCE and a voice on important issues concerning its domestic security.