Kosovo: Lets think about it

So what exactly is the big deal with this whole Kosovo thing? Most of us are probably thinking, "Oh great, another splinter country that the US can take care of." We've already seen how the Serbia's own populace is feeling, protesting in the streets and attacking embassies (namely our own). Also earlier this week border patrol posts were burned down in Northern Kosovo from upset Serbs. How bad is this situation looking? An article from BBC helps. Lets break down some different issues that may arise from this declaration of independence.

1. The legitimacy of the European Union. What are we talking about here? Well basically the EU has deployed a small force to help the Kosovar government stabilize through this transitional stage. Seems like the EU may be protecting it's own interests in this case. However, we've already seen how Russia is now backing Serbia in denouncing the declaration and fully supports Serbia. If Serbia decided to take Kosovo back using force, and Russia backed that force, the EU would have a serious situation on it's hands. The EU would have to deploy some kind of further military force to protect Kosovo in that case, but if they allowed Serbian and Russian forces to occupy Kosovo, the EU would lose much respect as a legitimate force in the region.

2. Russia vs. The West. Russia already has taken sides with Serbia on this issue. This is just adding to the division of countries, a majority of the EU and the US vs. Russia. Russia isn't as weak as it was ten years ago, the country is beginning to come back to life. With new economic deals through pipelines and countries relying on Russia to survive, this country has certainly increased its regional strength. No one wants another cold war and foreshadowing exactly what Russia plans to do with its future is difficult. With Putin stepping down soon, we will have to wait and watch how the new leader handles this regions problems.

3. Independence Trend. When Kosovo declared independence the world saw how most of the West supported the act. The EU has even placed personnel support within the country to help it survive. What if this has started a new trend? How many regions of the world have divisions that has caused the populace to want to break off to form a new country? Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia? the Kurds in Northern Iraq? Maybe since they can do it we can do it too. Today the countries don't need to be huge and powerful, all they really need is a grip on technology and the will to survive.