Europe's "Normative Power" Versus Grass-Root Activism in Kosovo: The Case of the Movement for Self-Determination

Since the concept had been coined in 2002 by Manners, the notion of ‘normative power’ has generated considerable academic debate, suggesting the ideational impact that the EU has on not only the member states but also on EU candidates and third countries. In Kosovo, as elsewhere in the wider region, such an impact has been significant. NGOs have mushroomed after the war in 1999, responding to the UN and EU democratisation policies underpinned by universalist paradigms of civil society. Besides the democratisation perspective it introduces, the EU also supports Kosovo’s economic and political development through underlining that Kosovo has a ‘European’ perspective. This paper delves into the question whether the ‘normative power’ of Europe is still (or has even been) at work in Kosovo. In this respect, a major portion of the paper will be devoted to the question whether recent strengthening of an anti-establishment movement, the Movement for Self-determination (LV) in Kosovo could be understood as a challenge to this ‘European’ perspective in the country.