International efforts to build and sustain local democracy in Kosovo offer lessons that are significant well beyond the Balkans. Democracy at the local level means the development of municipal administrations that can accommodate many needs of diverse populations. It nurtures a community’s economic development; it is embedded in networks of independent citizens’ groups, but beholden to no single one of them; and it is comprised of sufficiently legitimate institutions that can manage social and political conflicts peacefully. Democratic local governance becomes sustainable when it is integrated into a much broader network of autonomous institutions that function according to basic, agreed-upon political values and the principles of democratic political and social organization.
This paper was written by Dr. Mark Baskin for International IDEA as part of its Programme on Democracy Building and Conflict Management
Table of Contents
1. Overview of Local Democracy in Kosovo
1.1 Summary
1.2 Recommendations
1.2.1 Political Context
1.2.2 Democratization of Policy-Making in Local Government
1.2.3 Conflict Resolution
2. Local Democracy and Peace Building in Kosovo
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Towards Sustainable Local Governance in Kosovo
2.3 Context: Security, Status, Standards
2.4 Economic Reform: the Development Engine of Governance
2.5 Democracy and the Role of Civil Society in Kosovo Municipal Structures
