Recognition Practice and Geopolitical Risk in Eastern Europe: Georgia, Kosovo and Beyond
Print <http://www.rgemonitor.com/euro-monitor/253632/recognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond/print> Share Delicious <http://www.rgemonitor.com/redir_social.php?s=delicious&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgemonitor.com%2Feuro-monitor%2F253632%2Frecognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond&t=Recognition+Practice+and+Geopolitical+Risk+in+Eastern+Europe%3A+Georgia%2C+Kosovo+and+Beyond> Digg <http://www.rgemonitor.com/redir_social.php?s=digg&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgemonitor.com%2Feuro-monitor%2F253632%2Frecognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond&t=Recognition+Practice+and+Geopolitical+Risk+in+Eastern+Europe%3A+Georgia%2C+Kosovo+and+Beyond> Facebook <http://www.rgemonitor.com/redir_social.php?s=facebook&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgemonitor.com%2Feuro-monitor%2F253632%2Frecognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond&t=Recognition+Practice+and+Geopolitical+Risk+in+Eastern+Europe%3A+Georgia%2C+Kosovo+and+Beyond> reddit <http://www.rgemonitor.com/redir_social.php?s=reddit&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgemonitor.com%2Feuro-monitor%2F253632%2Frecognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond&t=Recognition+Practice+and+Geopolitical+Risk+in+Eastern+Europe%3A+Georgia%2C+Kosovo+and+Beyond> Technorati <http://www.rgemonitor.com/redir_social.php?s=technorati&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgemonitor.com%2Feuro-monitor%2F253632%2Frecognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond&t=Recognition+Practice+and+Geopolitical+Risk+in+Eastern+Europe%3A+Georgia%2C+Kosovo+and+Beyond> Jelena <http://www.rgemonitor.com/euro-monitor/bio/945/jelena_vukotic> Vukotic | Sep 17, 2008 In recognizing the two Georgian enclaves – South Ossetia and Abkhazia – Russia left no doubt that its decision was partly in retaliation for Western recognition of Kosovo, Serbia’s breakaway province. Moscow deeply opposed Kosovo’s independence and repeatedly warned recognition could set a precedent for other separatist regions. In return, western policy makers argued that Kosovo was a unique case, with no implications for other conflicts. Similarly, following the Russian recognition of the Georgian enclaves, western officials flatly rejected any parallels and maintained that the Kosovo case was only a convenient excuse for an increasingly assertive Moscow.That may be true, but the blame games and theoretical and legal debates only divert attention from the more serious point. Unilateral recognitions, whether justified or not, could influence other separatist movements which in turn could emphasize the exceptional nature of their own demands for statehood. The cases of the Kosovo and Georgian enclaves do, in effect, erode the international law of states’ sovereignty and the sanctity of borders and could thaw the two remaining ‘frozen conflicts’ in the CIS region (Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan and Transnistria in Moldavia), fuel tensions in Ukraine’s Russians populated Crimea and again destabilize the region where the recent trend of violent state fragmentations actually began – the Balkans. It is worth remembering that the secessionist governments of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia repeatedly called for international recognition following Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence and argued that if Kosovo could break away, so could they. So who is next? CONTINUE….http://www.rgemonitor.com/euro-monitor/253632/recognition_practice_and_geopolitical_risk_in_eastern_europe_georgia_kosovo_and_beyond
