US move to topple Kosovo government may backfire

Subject

US role in fall of Kurti government.

Significance

The White House’s push for a quick resolution of the Serbia-Kosovo dispute, part of the Trump pre-election campaign, has toppled the Kosovo government as it was struggling to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. For the time being, Albin Kurti heads a caretaker government that may be undermined by continued political infighting or further US involvement.

Impacts

• Political instability will combine with a poor health system to hamper efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
• US involvement threatens Kosovo’s fragile democracy by backing old and corrupt forces against the new, from which much was expected.
• The US-EU rift regarding the region’s long-term perspective will widen.