The Bumpy Road of EULEX as an Exporter of Rule of Law in Kosovo

Abstract

This paper analyses EULEX mission in Kosovo (hereafter EULEX) as an exporter of rule of law. From the deployment of the mission, two mainstream discourses have coined the effectiveness of EULEX establishing the rule of law in Kosovo. From the Brussels point of view, EULEX has marked a lot of progress in promoting the rule of law in Kosovo. On the other hand, based on international indexes and other secondary sources, EULEX has been harshly criticised to deliver its promises in strengthening the rule of law institutions, fighting organised crime, war crimes and reducing corruption. Beyond these discourses, the paper tries to explore whether, how and to what extent, EULEX has promoted rule of law in Kosovo. The paper argues that EULEX has failed to promote rule of law in Kosovo due to 1) the costs of adaptation or compliance as function of the misfit between EULEX institutional approach on rule of law and domestic conditions and 2) incapacity of Kosovo rule of law institutions to interact with EULEX in strengthening the rule of law as a result of political interference on judiciary and police sector.