From Derrida to Elster: Constitution-Making Constraints in Post-Independence Kosovo

This article argues that the Ahtisaari Plan (2007), as well as upstream and downstream constraints, determined the contours of Kosovo’s post-independence constitution-making process. While the Constitution of Kosovo had to align fully with the binding provisions of the Ahtisaari Plan—particularly those concerning power-sharing arrangements for minority rights, ethnic-territorial decentralization, and international oversight—the Plan did not offer a complete constitutional blueprint. Significant aspects of the political system, including the structure of government, the separation of powers, and institutional competences, were determined domestically. The new Constitution aimed at achieving two goals simultaneously: externally, it limited Kosovo’s sovereignty; internally, it sought to engineer a multi-ethnic society. For international state-builders, achieving these two goals was intended to ensure lasting peace in Kosovo and the broader region. Despite enshrining high standards of human and minority rights, Kosovo’s constitution-making process was marked by limited local ownership.