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Abstract

This article examines how Kosovo’s postwar struggle for statehood intersected withinterethnic reconciliation processes from 1999 to 2008. It argues that, among other fac-tors, it was the ensuing governance in postwar Kosovo that made it difficult, if not im-possible, for any kind of meaningful interethnic reconciliation to take place. Drawingon primary sources and personal interviews, the article focuses on groups that can becalled ‘reconciliation agents’ and that were among the main actors dealing with the leg-acy of the Kosovo war. They were typically multiethnic actors, both in terms of theirstaff members and their declared agendas, and they were exceptionally creative andcourageous in their efforts to promote interethnic reconciliation. They were, however,not seen as postconflict forces by much of the population and were often perceived asagents continuing the conflict over the status of Kosovo by other means. The samewas true for their international donors and other relevant international governmentalactors that were supporting interethnic reconciliation activities