Political Engineering in Kosovo : Lessons from confronting institutional theory and practice

Abstract

Theory of political engineering adopts an instrumental understanding of political institutions. Especially in ethnically divided post-conflict societies, such as Kosovo, the design of political institutions is argued to have an effect on the potential for peaceful co-existence between ethnic groups. Two major, partly competing perspectives on engineering can be identified in the literature: consociationalismand centripetalism. The models are distinguishable from each other through to their logic of institutional design and their respective potential for long-term societal reconstruction. The author analyzes the recent attempts of institution building in Kosovo under the United Nations interim administration since 1999. He finds that the current approach closely resembles the consociationalist school of thought. By drawing on the competing centripetalist position, he argues that the former is misleading with respect to the long term goal of societal reconciliation. Building further upon insights derived from field research, he concludes that the current approach is one based on political expediency, rather than on sound scientific principles which have informed earlier work.