The Kosova Liberation Army: Underground War to Balkan Insurgency, 1948-2001

The Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) was the first successful insurgent movement in Europe since the Second World War. In the struggle against Milosevic's Serbia it developed from a tiny group in the Swiss political underground in the 1980s to an 18,000 strong military force that was allied with NATO between 1997 and 1999. The KLA drew on deep historical traditions of resistance to Serbian rule in Kosova, but in other respects was highly innovative and was the first postmodern insurgency for which the image it carried in the media was almost as important as its achievements in the campaign. In this ground-breaking and innovative history, James Pettifer traces the development of the force using previously unknown documents from Russian, American, Serbian and Swiss archives, numerous interviews with participants and observers, and eye-witness material. The book focuses in particular depth on the work of the KLA leaders in secret organisations prior to the war, and how Milosevic misunderstood the nature of the opponent he was facing. This also applied to many NATO nations, who often saw the unique Kosova struggle as an extension of the earlier Bosnian and Croatian conflicts. James Pettifer draws on years of study of the region and personal knowledge of many of the KLA and other leaders involved to write what will become the standard account of the origins of the conflict.

About the Author :
JAMES PETTIFER teaches Balkan history at St Cross College, Oxford University. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki and was an Honorary Fellow of the Department of Greek and Byzantine Studies, Birmingham University, UK. In 2007 he was Stanley J. Seeger Research Fellow at Princeton University, New Jersey, USA. From 2000 until its abolition in 2010 he also worked in the Research and Analysis branch of the Defence Academy of the UK. He is the author of several standard works on the Southern Balkans, Greece and Turkey, including Albania from Anarchy to a Balkan Identity (with Miranda Vickers), The New Macedonia Question, The Making of the Greek Crisis and Kosova Express.

Review :
'The first serious study of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in English ... [this book] has given us much to think about. ... Pettifer's coverage of 1997 in particular is superb and puts to rest a number of silly rumours about watershed events that served to define the insurgency and convince more people that Kosovo needed armed, not passive, resistance.' '...essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the last 60 years of Kosova's history.' '...exquisitely written and well researched. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the origins of the Kosovo conflict, the modern history of Kosovo, guerrilla warfare and insurgency movements.' 'Kosovo was the last conflict in the tragic and complex break-up of Yugoslavia at the end of the Cold War. Given Milosovic's inflammation of ethnic tensions in Kosovo, the rise of the KLA in the late 1990s was inevitable. Fearful of further ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the West used force to coerce Milosovic to concede. The 1999 NATO operation was, in effect, in alliance with the KLA. This fascinating book is a detailed study of the role of the KLA in these extraordinary events.' 'James Pettifer is the doyen of British commentators on Albania and Albanians... The importance of this book goes well beyond the story of Balkan rebellion. Its importance lies rather more generally. For this is the first full recent study of a successful 'insurgency' largely from the perspective of the insurgents themselves. - This excellent book contains and affirms many lessons which remain not only unlearned but largely unidentified in more recent and distant campaigns.' 'Well-researched and well-written and therefore comprises a significant contribution to the field [...] should appeal not only to students of Kosovo's recent history and its contemporary politics, but also to those wishing to understand the effect that the war has had on the psyche of Kosovo's people, and the high regard with which former KLA commanders are still held.' 'Pettifer presents an excellent textbook for readers interested in the development of international and transatlantic politics, the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia and the political and military engagement in Kosovo toward Serbian rule - based on unique archival documents and sources [it] gives the reader new and fascinating information on the historical and contemporary politics regarding Kosovo's future.'