The Role of the European Union in the Normalisation of Relations between Serbia and Kosovo

The main topic of this bachelor s thesis is the role of the European Union in the political development of Serbia and Kosovo, starting from the Allied Force operation in 1999 and ending with the current process of normalization of relations between the two states. The thesis is divided into three chapters. First chapter deals with the concept of power in international relations and the work of Joseph Nye who introduced the concept of soft power. Second chapter introduces the topic of relations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians from the end of World War II until the climax of the tension between both ethnical groups before the war in Kosovo in 1998. The third and main chapter of this thesis identifies and analyses tools which are used by the EU to influence the development in Western Balkans. Furthermore, based on theoretical findings in the first chapter, it attempts to determine whether the tools the EU uses to influence the development in Serbia and Kosovo are based on soft or hard power