Dissertationsprojekt: The Role of Civil Society in the Peace-building Process in Kosovo (2008-2018)

The Role of Civil Society in the Peace-building Process in Kosovo (2008-2018)

Even though the armed conflict in Kosovo ended up 22 years ago, the peace-building process is still questionable. Considering the turn of the civil society organizations? focus from peace-building to governance and state-building in 2008 (Visoka, 2017) and that the country is characterized as a frozen conflict and negative peace, what remains unanswered is what civil society organizations have done to foster peace-building in the period after Kosovo's independence.
Considering the unstable political situation between Serbia and Kosovo, this project is seeking for a new approach towards peace-building process and will explore the role of civil society organizations in the peace process in Kosovo. Furthermore, this research will present an analysis of the work done by the civil society organizations, their perception of peace-building, work, goals and achievements, successes and failures, methods and target groups, but also how are they seen by the local community and international donors in Kosovo.
The main aim of this research is to find out how civil society organizations understood and approached the peace-building process in Kosovo from the declaration of independence in 2008 until 2021. This topic is researched in order to better understand the perceptions of the middle range peace-building actors (civil society organizations) and their influence on the peace-building process among the grassroots level of society, meaning ordinary citizens.