This book tells the story of Kosovo's independence, from the periodic bloodshed of the twentieth century to the diplomacy that led to a determination of Kosovo's final status as a state in 2008. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, over the objection of Serbia and Russia. This culminated in more than a hundred years of, sometimes violent, resistance to what the majority Albanian population considered to be 'occupation' by foreign forces - first those of the Ottoman Empire, then those of Serbia, and finally by the United Nations. Kosovo's independence was the product of careful diplomacy, orchestrated by the United States and leading members of the European Union, under a framework brokered by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who subsequently won the Nobel Prize for Peace.

This book tells the story of Kosovo's independence, from the periodic bloodshed of the twentieth century to the diplomacy that led to a determination of Kosovo's final status as a state in 2008. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, over the objection of Serbia and Russia. This culminated in more than a hundred years of, sometimes violent, resistance to what the majority Albanian population considered to be 'occupation' by foreign forces - first those of the Ottoman Empire, then those of Serbia, and finally by the United Nations. Kosovo's independence was the product of careful diplomacy, orchestrated by the United States and leading members of the European Union, under a framework brokered by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who subsequently won the Nobel Prize for Peace.

The military intervention by NATO in Kosovo was portrayed in American media as a necessary step to prevent the Serbian armed forces from repeating the ethnic cleansing that had so deeply damaged the former Yugoslavia. Serbia trained its military on Kosovo because of an ongoing armed struggle by ethnic Albanians to wrest independence from Serbia. Warfare in the Balkans seemed to threaten the stability of Europe, as well as the peace and security of Kosovars, and yet armed resistance seemed to offer the only possibility of future stability. Leading the struggle against Serbia was the Kosovo Liberation Army, also known as the KLA. Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency provides a historical background for the KLA and describes its activities up to and including the NATO intervention. Henry H. Perritt Jr. offers firsthand insight into the motives and organization of a popular insurgency, detailing the strategies of recruitment, training, and financing that made the KLA one of the most successful insurgencies of the post-cold war era. This volume also tells the personal stories of young people who took up guns in response to repeated humiliation by "foreign occupiers," as they perceived the Serb police and intelligence personnel. Perritt illuminates the factors that led to the KLA's success, including its convergence with political developments in eastern Europe, its campaign for popular support both at home and abroad, and its participation in international negotiations and a peace settlement that helped pave the long road from war to peace.

The military intervention by NATO in Kosovo was portrayed in American media as a necessary step to prevent the Serbian armed forces from repeating the ethnic cleansing that had so deeply damaged the former Yugoslavia. Serbia trained its military on Kosovo because of an ongoing armed struggle by ethnic Albanians to wrest independence from Serbia. Warfare in the Balkans seemed to threaten the stability of Europe, as well as the peace and security of Kosovars, and yet armed resistance seemed to offer the only possibility of future stability. Leading the struggle against Serbia was the Kosovo Liberation Army, also known as the KLA.

"Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency" provides a historical background for the KLA and describes its activities up to and including the NATO intervention. Henry H. Perritt Jr. offers firsthand insight into the motives and organization of a popular insurgency, detailing the strategies of recruitment, training, and financing that made the KLA one of the most successful insurgencies of the post-cold war era. This volume also tells the personal stories of young people who took up guns in response to repeated humiliation by "foreign occupiers," as they perceived the Serb police and intelligence personnel. Perritt illuminates the factors that led to the KLA's success, including its convergence with political developments in eastern Europe, its campaign for popular support both at home and abroad, and its participation in international negotiations and a peace settlement that helped pave the long road from war to peace.