The Failure Of The Rambouillet Negotiations

The effects of the failed negotiations at the Rambouillet and the military intervention which led,still influence the everyday life of Serbian people.Due to the carried out NATO airstrikes the country and its industry are still recovering.Under some of most cited estimates,Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was damaged for between 40 billion and 100 billion USD as the direct result of the infrastructure devastation.The reasons behind the failure of negotiations,which were set in the form of ultimatum to Yugoslav leadership as part of the diplomatic offensive to stop the violence in Kosovo(Serbian and Yugoslav southernmost province)is also significant for the understanding of the foreign affairs changes which this region was facing.The author decided to enrich the study of negotiation between the alliance and the weak state through the coercive alibi diplomacy in order to contribute to the further study of the matter and emphasis the need for the further study of this topic.This paper has its main focus on the period prior and right after the Rambouillet peace talks which took place between February and March of 1999th.The main research question that the researcher will try to provide the best possible answer is as flows:Why did the negotiations at Rambouillet fail,and to what extent it was failed due to domestic,international,and inter-alliance dynamics between the parties involved?The author throughout this paper will suggest that the reasons for the failure of the negotiations,among which the research is centred,are in the interaction of various complicated factors among which one is certain actors strong interest for letting them fail or not willingness to make sufficient enough efforts and degree of compromises in order for them to succeed.Those efforts,not only limiting to the ultimatum in Rambouillet,were used to satisfy domestic pressures for the peace like solution.Those diplomatic activates had to a purpose to show that the international community together with FRY was not capable of solving the crisis by any other means but by engaging new actors and extending the range of armed conflict between the Kosovo Liberation Army and Yugoslav forces.With this argument the researcher is capable to contribute with an answer to secondary research question and to explain major motivation for the actor involved to conduct negotiations in the first place,if some important actors were apparently willing to let them fail.It should be noticed that the scope of the research was made as broad as the methodological tools for this assignment allowed them to be.The study will focus on the interactions and measures undertaken due to the lack of information,proper planning and varies of different perceptions of the parties involved.For the formulation of the hypothesis the author examined Yugoslav/Serbian side,unrevealing the domestic and international causes for refusal of the proposed agreement and both domestic,inter-alliance and international level of involved NATO member states in to these talks.The author of this paper intends to offer an analysis by looking into the circumstances that can allow strong states domestic factors within it or within its allies and/or counterpart to play a decisive role in foreign policy planning and implementation,as well as to show how the weaker side in this negotiation is dependent on its domestic level and interplay of above mentioned factors of strong state.The history and relations among the entities in Yugoslavia up to today remain complex and very subjectively explained.The problems which led to spilt up of the country could be explained through various studies conducted and based over different cultural,religious,historical circumstances,good and bad domestic political decision,their implementation and the factors set by the big powers.In that context,understanding the collapse of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia requires wide range of tools.For the better understanding of the causes for the conflict and for the reasons for the Kosovo War the author will provide detailed background of the conflict and other relevant events,decisions and moves taken by the actors involved.Often the importance of Kosovo issue is related to Slobodan Milosevic political success.It is important to notice that Milosevic didn't create those tensions but rather they are believed to be significant contribution to his political rising.Drawing attention to this case is important since that the author found that the rise of Milosevic was closely correlated to his Kosovo agenda which he pushed hard in order to mobilize nationalist voters in his advantage.That didn't only help him to climb to the top of' the Socialist Party of Serbia but also to be elected for the head of the state.As it will be explained in the thesis the historical tensions and lack of national unity as well as the poverty in the province together with separatist tensions was a recipe for a situation to go from bad to worse.The Albanian majority started discrimination of other minorities in the province although it was enjoying significant degree of rights.Discrimination and separatist aspirations of the Albanian minority and its readiness to question the Yugoslav statehood were picked up by Slobodan Milosevic and allowed him to develop such an agenda which mobilised the vast majority of Yugoslav population.Due to numerous reported acts of violence and open discrimination of Serbian and other minorities on behalf of Albanian local majority in Kosovo and as well economic crises the national feelings were growing in the Province and the rest of Federal republics of Yugoslavia.During the 1987 Milosevic was sent to Kosovo to talk to the representatives of Serbian national minority in Kosovo.Since it was a rear opportunity for the minority representatives to directly talk to official Belgrade,hundreds of people went out on the streets to welcome Milosevic.Milosevic after an hours of talks,went out from the office,in which the talks were conducted,and headed to see the crowd.The meeting was protected by the ethnically Albanian policeman which used the sticks to suppress peaceful protesters.As recorded by the national TV station and widely broadcasted in Yugoslavia,Slobodan Milosevic stated that nobody is allowed to beat the people while he was walking towards gathered people.From that day,24.04.1987,Milosevic became a hero and protector of Serbian people in the eyes of Serbian electorate.After a years of a struggle in the province and few signed documents,FRY was accused for violation of so-called October agreement and the international community led by the Contact Group organized a Peace conference in Rambouillet.The purpose of that conference was to discuss peaceful solutions in accordance with non-negotiable principles set by CG.The negotiations failed due to many factors explained in the research.