Nato's secretary general Javier Solana and the Kosovo Crisis

Hendrickson, Ryan C. (author)

Much research has been devoted to the post-Cold War evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its use of force in Kosovo. Very little analysis, however, is devoted to NATO's Secretary General and how this position has evolved with the Alliancećs new strategic objectives. This article examines Secretary General Javier Solana's contributions to Operation Allied Force, and how these findings relate to the issue of the role of Secretaries General in NATO after the Cold War. The findings suggest that greater leadership possibilities exist for the Secretary General and that Solana contributed to alliance cohesion on many fronts. Aspects of Solana's leadership examined include the novel international legal foundation he crafted in North Atlantic Council meetings to justify the bombing, the use of NATO's rules to foster co-operation, and his close working relationship with NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Solana's connections to the Clinton Administration and his own exceptional diplomatic skills also offer an insight into the Secretary General's ability to lead in this new security environment.

• Language: English
• Keywords: NATO, Kosovo, Balkanski polotok, Krize, Mirovne operacije, Mirovna pogajanja
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2002
• Number of pages: Str. 240-257, 326, 329
• Numbering: Vol. 5, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135804
• UDC: 341.1(497.115)
• ISSN on article: 1408-6980
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8486477
• Publication date in RUL: 30.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of international relations and development
• Shortened title: J. int. relat. & dev.
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre of International Relations
• ISSN: 1408-6980
• COBISS.SI-ID: 76065792

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Generalni sekretar Nata Javier Solana in kriza na Kosovu

Abstract

Razvoju Organizacije severnoatlantskega sporazuma (Nata) po koncu hladne vojne in njeni uporabi sile na Kosovu (Operation Allied Force Operacija združena sila) je bilo posvečenih veliko raziskav. Pri tem pa sta vloga generalnega sekretarja Nata in razvoj te vloge glede na nove strateške opredelitve zavezništva bili deležni zelo skromne raziskovalne pozornosti. Članek tako proučuje konkreten prispevek generalnega sekretarja Javierja Solane pri operaciji zavezniških sil na Kosovu, in kako naj bi njegova dejavnost pri operaciji prispevala k razjasnitvi vprašanja vloge generalnih sekretarjev Nata po koncu hladne vojne. Ugotovitve kažejo, da ima sodobni generalni sekretar Nata precejšnje možnosti za uveljavljanje svojih pogledov in da je večkrat prispeval h koheziji zavezništva. Avtor je proučil Solanove voditeljske sposobnosti pri izoblikovanju mednarodnopravne argumentacije, ki naj bi upravičila Natovo akcijo na Kosovu, njegovo izkoriščanje Natovih notranjih pravil za pospeševanje sodelovanja med državami in tudi pomen tesnega delovnega odnosa z vrhovnim poveljnikom zavezništva za Evropo. Hkrati pa avtor ugotavlja, da je pri presoji voditeljskih sposobnosti generalnega sekretarja Nata v novem varnostnem okolju treba upoštevati tudi Solanove zveze s Clintonovo administracijo ter njegove izjemne diplomatske spretnosti.

• Keywords: Crises, Peacekeeping, Peace negotiations