The Art of Avoiding Serbia’s Defeat in the Case of Kosovo: The Promises and Limitations of International Law

Abstract The debate about Serbia’s defeat regarding Kosovo in 1999 is still ongoing. Questions such as whether the Kumanovo Agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 formalized that defeat or not, what are the consequences of that defeat, and how it affected Kosovo’s final status, are part of everyday conversations in Serbia and beyond. These questions have a significant impact on contemporary Serbia and the understanding of its national interests. This paper focuses on how international