I.

Introduction

Kosovo, United Nations-administered region in the Balkan Peninsula. Kosovo is bounded on the south by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the west by Albania, and on the northwest by Montenegro. Serbia, which claims Kosovo as a province, is to the north and northeast. Kosovo was the location of the fourth conflict in the wars of Yugoslav succession, which took place in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) during the 1990s. In 1999 the United Nations set up an interim administration in Kosovo, pending a settlement on the region’s status. Subsequent negotiations were inconclusive, however, and its status remained a matter of dispute. In 2008 Kosovo declared its independence, but Serbia refused to recognize the declaration.