From Multi-ethnicity to Ethnocracy: The Evolution of the EU-Facilitated Dialogue Between Kosovo and Serbia [pre-publication] - European Public Law View From Multi-ethnicity to Ethnocracy: The Evolution of the EU-Facilitated Dialogue Between Kosovo and Serbia [pre-publication] by - European Public Law From Multi-ethnicity to Ethnocracy: The Evolution of the EU-Facilitated Dialogue Between Kosovo and Serbia [pre-publication] 32 1 [pre-publication]

This paper examines Kosovo’s foundation as a multi-ethnic state and its constitutional identity, both essential to its independence. The international community sought to establish a civic, multi-ethnic identity, avoiding an ethno-nationalist framework centred on the Albanian majority. This principle, embedded in the Declaration of Independence (DI) and reinforced by the Ahtisaari Plan, was operationalized through the Constitution of Kosovo (CK). However, the EU-facilitated Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, culminating in the 2023 Brussels and Ohrid agreements, has introduced a new constitutional framework. These agreements mandate the creation of a mono-ethnic entity that contradicts Kosovo’s established constitutional identity as defined by the DI, the Ahtisaari Plan, and the Constitution. This paper argues that the EU-facilitated dialogue with Serbia and the Brussels and Ohrid agreements, challenges Kosovo’s constitutional identity by introducing a mono-ethnic structure – the Association/Community of SerbianMajority Municipalities – which undermines Kosovo’s foundational principles.

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