Preface

Kosovo is a watershed in the World Politics. As an ethnic phenomenon, it not only prompted a reexamination of some of the central issues of ethnicity but also raised an important question about the role of United Nations in international politics. This study, by discussing the theoretical issues involved in ethnic phenomena, analyse various questions raised by NATO's attack on the former Yugoslavia. These questions involved the issues of humanitarian intervention, the diminished relevance of the United Nations in the sphere of the use of force in world affairs, changed peace-keeping role of the United Nations in intra-state conflicts, the United States' role as a sole super power conflicts and its impact on the United Nations system. Due to these central questions Kosovo would always remain important in world politics. Even after 9/11 attack on world Trade Centre the following issues would also linked with Kosovo such as,

1. What happens if states behave as gangsters toward their own people and use sovereignty as a license to kill?

2. Should such states forfeit their sovereign rights or be recognized as legitimate members of international society?

3. What responsibilities does international community have to enforce humanitarian laws on non-compliant states?

As a tyro in the field of research, it was difficult for me to deal with such complex issues of international importance. But my deep interest in ethnic phenomenon took the shape of this work with generous support of various people in the Department of Political Science, Punjabi University. A number of people contributed to the evolution of my ideas during my stay in the department. My guide Prof. Manju Verma gave me an important vision through which I finally came to understand the complex theoretical aspects of Problem of Ethnicity: The United Nations and Kosovo Crisis vii ethnicity in the world politics. Other faculty members of department Prof. Narinder Kumar Dogra, Prof. Inderjit Singh Sethi, Prof. S.K Sharma and Prof. Jagroop Kaur especially gave their deep insights on my study.

My friends Dr. Jatinder Singh, Dr. Subhash Kumar and my wife Dr. Rinka were generous enough to read and criticize various chapters and immensely helped me from the very beginning of this study. A Sincere thanks also goes to S. Sewak Singh who read the entire manuscript and gave invaluable insights and suggestions for revision.

I consider it my duty to make a special mention of Ms. Kusum Verma (Principal, Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara) and my colleagues in the department of Political Science (K.N. College for Women Phagwara) Sh. D.K. Sood, Ms Chander Rekha, Dr. Rinka and Dr. Kanwaljit Singh for providing me encouragement and guidance to make this work more meaningful.

I am also thankful to Mr. Pankaj who efficiently typed the manuscript. I extend my sincere thanks to "Unistar Publishers" who have brought their professionalism and expertise to shape this work into a form of book.

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