From the Berlin Wall to Kosovo: When history binds the fates of nations

The closure of the German issue created the conditions for the opening of the Kosovo issue and its internationalization. In this context, a decade later, NATO's intervention in Kosovo represents, what the renowned philosopher Ivan Krastev calls, the backbone of the liberal order. If “The Role of German Foreign Policy Towards Kosovo 1990 – 2008” deals with this paradigm shift, the book “The Horseshoe” deals with its clash with an old Serbian hegemonic project in the Balkans. One speaks of the power of freedom and democracy, the other of the violent attempt to stop them.

If someone had said more than three decades ago that the fall of the Berlin Wall would directly affect the fate of Kosovo, they would probably have called it political fantasy. After all, what connection could a wall separating Berlin have with a small country in the heart of the Balkans?

But history has a strange way of connecting events that at first glance seem completely unrelated. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 did not just mark the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany; it created the conditions for a new European order, within which the Kosovo issue would also emerge.

The closure of the German issue created the space for the internationalization of the Kosovo issue. A reunited Germany, freed from the constraints of the Cold War, would gradually become one of the most important actors in the processes that led Kosovo from repression, war, and ethnic cleansing to freedom and independence.

It is precisely about this connection – between Germany and Kosovo, between freedom and violence, between democracy and hegemony – that my two books speak: “The Role of German Foreign Policy Towards Kosovo 1990–2008” and “The Horseshoe”.

The first book deals with the journey of German policy from reunification to supporting Kosovo's statehood, arguing that Kosovo became one of the greatest tests of German foreign policy after World War II. Meanwhile, the book "The Horseshoe" deals with the other side of this story: the continuation of the Serbian project for the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians and the attempt to realize a "final solution" to the Albanian question in Kosovo.

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On one side is the story of a Europe that was building a post-Cold War democratic order; on the other is the story of a regime that continued to rely on the logic of aggressive nationalism and ethnic violence. The clash between these two visions determined the fate of Kosovo at the end of the 20th century.

On this occasion, I express my gratitude to the Directorate of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ferizaj, the Literary Club “De Rada”, as well as to all those who contributed to the promotion of these two works. A special thanks goes to the reviewers of the book “Patkoi”, Prof. Dr. Sadik Mehmeti and Prof. Dr. Haxhi Ademi, as well as to Prof. Dr. Hajredin Kuqin for his assessment and speech on the book “The Role of German Foreign Policy towards Kosovo 1990–2008”.

The famous Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho, says that when you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to make it happen. This idea has always accompanied me. I have fought for my dreams to make them come true. I have fallen many times, but I have also risen, I have had obstacles, but I have not given up.

Initially, I tried to realize this dream at the University of Prishtina. It was not possible. I did not give up. But I continued in Austria and Germany: in Graz, in Vienna, as well as in Berlin, in Bremen, while at the University of Leipzig, with the renowned European historian Stefan Troebst, I discussed my doctoral thesis right next to the Church of St. Nicholas in Leipzig, where the peaceful Monday demonstrations (Die Montagsdemonstrationen) began on September 4, 1989.

Monday's demonstrations were an important part of the Peaceful Revolution in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the fall of 1989, paving the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.

These were not just German events. They were a moment that changed the paradigm of European and international politics. The bipolar order of the Cold War ended and the era of liberal democracy, human rights and self-determination of peoples began. The closure of the German issue created the conditions for the opening of the Kosovo issue and its internationalization. In this context, a decade later, NATO's intervention in Kosovo represents, what the renowned philosopher Ivan Krastev says, the backbone of the liberal order.

If the book on the role of German foreign policy deals with this paradigm shift, the book "The Horseshoe" deals with its clash with an old Serbian hegemonic project in the Balkans. One speaks of the power of freedom and democracy; the other of the violent attempt to stop them.

The book on Germany was born from the conviction that the history of Kosovo cannot be understood without analyzing the role of German foreign policy during the years 1990–2008. The book argues that Kosovo was not only a challenge for Germany, but also a turning point in the evolution of German foreign policy itself.

My main theses that I present in a synthetic and analytical way in this book are: First, the fall of the Berlin Wall created the conditions for the opening of the Kosovo issue: One of the fundamental arguments of the book is that the closing of the German issue with the reunification of Germany created a new European reality, which then paved the way for the internationalization of the Kosovo issue. In a way, the end of the Cold War linked the fate of Germany with the fate of Kosovo.

Second, Kosovo was a catalyst for the transformation of German foreign policy: The Kosovo War represents the most important point in the evolution of German foreign policy after reunification. For the first time since World War II, Germany participated in a combat operation outside its territory, abandoning its traditional culture of military restraint.

Third, Germany moved from a "civilian power" to an active international actor:

The book argues that Kosovo marked Germany's shift from a policy focused primarily on diplomacy and multilateralism to taking on concrete responsibilities for European security. The engagement in Kosovo served as a catalyst for Germany's growing international role.

Fourth, Germany was not initially supportive of Kosovo's independence: An important thesis of the book is that Berlin, like most of the international community, had been seeking a solution that avoided independence for many years. Support for Kosovo's statehood was the result of a long political, diplomatic and strategic process.

Fifth, the Kosovo war changed the international debate on sovereignty and human rights:

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The Kosovo crisis pitted two fundamental principles against each other: state sovereignty and the protection of human rights. For Germany and the West, Kosovo became a case where the protection of the civilian population took precedence over the traditional concept of non-intervention.

Sixth, the KLA and the armed struggle brought Kosovo into the international spotlight:

The book argues that peaceful resistance had reached its limits. It was only after the emergence of the KLA and the outbreak of armed conflict that Kosovo became a priority for international and German diplomacy.

Seventh, Germany was one of the main architects of the international solution to Kosovo: From the Fischer Plan to Resolution 1244, from NATO intervention to support for independence, Germany played a decisive role in the process that led Kosovo from a humanitarian crisis to an independent state. One of the most important conclusions of this book is that Kosovo’s path to statehood did not begin with the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008, but with its placement under international administration after the 1999 war. In this process, the so-called Fischer Plan, drafted by German diplomacy during Germany’s presidency of the European Union and the G8, played a decisive role. This plan became the political and diplomatic basis for UN Security Council Resolution 1244, creating the framework for the withdrawal of Serbian forces, the deployment of KFOR, and the international civilian administration of Kosovo by UNMIK. In this sense, the Fischer Plan represents the genesis of the new political order in post-war Kosovo, because it removed Kosovo from the effective sovereignty of Belgrade and placed it under a transitional international regime, which would later pave the way for the process of determining its final status and independence. Rarely in modern European history has a German diplomatic initiative become the political architecture on which post-war Kosovo was built.

If Rambouillet represented the last attempt to keep Kosovo within Yugoslavia, then the Fischer Plan represented the turning point that took Kosovo out of Serbian administration and placed it under international civil and military administration. Through this plan, German diplomacy laid the foundations of a new political order in Kosovo, creating the conditions that later led to the final status process and Kosovo's declaration of independence.

The book is based on the thesis that the fall of the Berlin Wall did not only change the fate of Germany, but also directly influenced the fate of Kosovo. Kosovo became the arena where the reunified Germany tested its new international role, moving from a culture of restraint to a culture of responsibility. At the same time, the book proves that Kosovo's independence was not the result of a single moment, but the product of a long process, combining the resistance of the Kosovo people, NATO intervention and the decisive support of Germany and the West.

The other book, "The "Horseback" Plan: Continuation of the Serbian Doctrine for the Ethnic Cleansing of Kosovo", was born from the need to document a period when Kosovo was threatened with disintegration and when Serbia, through the codenamed "Horseback" plan, was making its last attempt to repeat the policy of ethnic cleansing it had implemented in Toplica at the end of the 19th century.

When we look at the Albanian refugee columns of the spring of 1999, we see not only the consequences of a war. We see the tragic end of an ideology that for decades had preached that Kosovo could only become Serbian if Albanians left it. This is why I argue in the book that the “Horseshoe” was not just a military plan, but the expression of a doctrine that aimed to eliminate the Albanian presence as a political and demographic factor in Kosovo.

If the 19th century brought the expulsion of Albanians from Toplica, if the 20th century brought colonization, repression and apartheid, then the war of 1998–1999 represented the last attempt to realize what in the terminology of the Serbian regime was experienced as a “final solution” for Kosovo. NATO intervention interrupted this process and made it possible for Kosovo to not become the next chapter in the tragedies that the Balkans had known during the 20th century. Precisely for this reason, the book treats the year 1999 not as the beginning of the problem, but as the culmination of a historical trajectory. What happened in Kosovo was not a spontaneous reaction to the circumstances of the war, but the last attempt of a centuries-old project to finally solve the “Albanian question” in Kosovo.

In this sense, this book is also a tribute to all those who faced violence, expulsion, and the policy of collective extermination, but who, despite everything, survived and maintained the right to live freely in their country.

I feel proud that I have dedicated this book to my two uncles, Gursel, a painter, and Bajram (geologist) Sylejmani, both martyrs of the KLA. For me, they remain a symbol of patriotism, knowledge, culture and devotion to the homeland. Every time I see their names on the streets of Ferizaj, I feel a special emotion for many reasons, and of course I return there with pleasure for many reasons, because they represent not only the history of my family, but also the values ​​on which the freedom of Kosovo was built.

Therefore, this book is not just a study of the past. It is also a warning for the future. Because, as I wrote at the end of the book’s introduction, the issue is not just what happened in Kosovo, but how we will remember and how we will interpret it. The relativization of violence is not simply a historiographical problem; it risks restoring the logic that made that violence possible. And precisely for this reason, historical memory remains the best form of defense of our freedom.

In the end, I believe that the history of Kosovo is not only a history of suffering and sacrifice. It is also a history of changing paradigms of international politics. Kosovo challenged classical concepts of sovereignty, influenced the transformation of NATO and the European Union, and became one of the most important cases in the debate on human rights and international responsibility, as well as humanitarian intervention.

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If these two books help even slightly to better understand Kosovo's path to freedom and independence and the challenges that have accompanied it, then I can say that years of work, research, and dedication have made sense.

Speech by S. Ukshini held on the occasion of the promotion of two scientific books: The “Horseback” Plan and “The Role of German Foreign Policy towards Kosovo 1990 – 2008”, which were promoted within the framework of the event “Days of Culture – Ferizaj 2026”. The promotion was organized by the Directorate of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Literary Club “De Rada” – Ferizaj