The Ambivalence of Kosovo–EU Relations in the Last Decade: The Perspective of Kosovo’s Political Elites

This chapter provides a theoretical and conceptual background that sheds light on EU–Kosovo relations from a core–periphery analytical perspective. Within this research purview, the study focuses on the examination of the three main areas of interaction – politics (identity), economy, and security – manifested in the framework of contractual relations within the process of Kosovo’s integration into the EU. The study highlights the ambivalent attitudes of political elites in Kosovo, who, while resisting or contesting different aspects in relation to the EU, are still actively engaged in the EU integration process. Moreover, based on empirical data from original semi-structured interviews with representatives from the aforementioned elite, this chapter explores how the EU is perceived and contested in Kosovo within evolving circumstances in profoundly changed contexts, most recently the war in Ukraine.