UNMIK, KFOR, and the Kosovo Protection Corps

This chapter explains the mandate and structure of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission and NATO and their role in the administration of Kosovo since 1999. It portrays the complex political situation following the withdrawal of Serb government structures from Kosovo, and the difficulties to assert the authority of the UN and NATO in Kosovo. The central part of this chapter is the political process which led to the demilitarization and transformation of the Kosovo Liberation Army and its transformation into civilian structures, such as the Kosovo Protection Corps, the Kosovo Police, and the integration of former KLA combatants into civilian structures. It portrays one of the rare situations where a successful guerilla has demilitarized peacefully, primarily due to the skilful management of a delicate process by the international actors involved in the process. The chapter concludes with an overview of how the Kosovo Protection Corps, a hybrid civil-military formation, evolved until 2008 when Kosovo declared independence.