Eiki Berg - De Facto States and Land-For-Peace Agreements: Territory and Recognition at Odds?

Eiki Berg and Shpend Kursani

First published 2022
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2022 Eiki Berg and Shpend Kursani

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ISBN: 978-0-367-48513-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-18218-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-04143-6 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003041436

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This book came about as a result of a series of research-related talks between the two of us. These conversations did not end without discussing, as per usual, some intricacies surrounding de facto states. At the time, a hot issue in the media resonating on for already months was the alleged tacit agreement between the leadership of Kosovo and Serbia to engage in territorial adjustments to bring peace between the parties. Suddenly there were voices talking about the impossible that Serbia could go as far as recognising the independence of its rebellious offspring, that Kosovo could trade its Serb-speaking North Kosovo for this, and, finally, that this all may also receive a blessing from the Great Powers. These public discussions, however, were neither local nor short-lived. They spanned internationally around various corners of the west with many heated normative appeals domestically and internationally on not only whether territorial adjustments can bring about peace between Kosovo and Serbia but also whether it is the right thing to do. We shared our opinions about the issue towards the end of our conversation. We quickly left the normative part aside and began to be bothered with whether the territorial adjustment idea between Kosovo and Serbia is a workable solution, to begin with. We quickly turned this to the broader topic of de facto states: why have we not seen such a solution implemented yet in any de facto stateparent state territorial and sovereignty contestations? Surely, we did share some initial thoughts on these questions. But not only were we very vague in our thoughtstrying to answer such questions was simply leading us to a disconcerting realisation: we just do not know. This book thus commenced.

One may question why we bother with de facto states which, if one looks at the world map, can hardly be noticed even if the geographic space they occupy is marked with the brightest colour one can think of. Why study places that legally speaking do not exist and, politically speaking, threaten to overstep the lines of tolerance and accepted norms. Yet, the de facto states research is inviting new inquiries even if circumstances may turn out unfavourable. It is a well-known fact that engaging with secessionists (not just political elite but also ordinary people) does not remain unnoticed by those who consider these dealings, even the most innocent ones, wrong or entirely misplaced. One can publish excellent research on de facto states and might receive some fame within the academic circles bothered by the same conflicts. However, overall and so far, efforts put on