Book Review

Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U.S. Intervention
By David L. Phillips
ISBN #978-0-262-01844-9
Victoria Alexander
Research and Fundraising Intern
Book Review
March 16, 2013

In the book Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U.S. Intervention by David L. Phillips, the history of Kosovo’s existence and fight for independence from the Serbian Republic of Yugoslavia is examined and an in depth timeline of the foreign aid they received throughout their struggle is brought to light.  Kosovo and the Kosovars’ nine year struggle for freedom is a less well known part of history.  Phillips spends the majority of the book highlighting the enormous effort given from U.S. politicians in combination with the unyielding resilience of the Kosovars throughout a decade to ultimately lead to their independence in 2008.

While U.S. domestic advocacy through various politicians helped bring issues involving Kosovo to higher platforms, international negotiations between countries didn’t always result in favor of the persecuted territory.  Numerous attempts to promote freedom in Kosovo like the United States deployment of troops to Yugoslavia in the early 90’s and the UN’s effort to take preventative measures to protect Kosovo from outside threats through the peace keeping operation United Nations Preventative Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) fell short and faced continuous road blocks from outside nations and their economic tensions with one another.

Liberating Kosovo presents the reader with a step by step story of Kosovo from the start to finish.  Throughout the text we are reminded of the importance to work together as U.S. leaders, politicians, NGO’s and citizens to maintain ethical human rights in our own community as well as abroad.  David L. Phillips incorporates and details these meaningful issues into Liberating Kosovo while promoting them in his daily life and work as Director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University.

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