Muhamet Brajshori

Sub-State Recognition: The Politics of Recognition from Below Published in Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies (Ahead of Print, 2025)

In my latest book review, I discuss @gezimvisoka.bsky.social & @rameshg.bsky.social “Sub-State Recognition: The Politics of Recognition from Below”, a powerful challenge to the state-centric orthodoxy of recognition and a major contribution to sovereignty studies. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RRISX...

Visoka and Brajshori (2025) show that aspirant states like Kosovo use protean power—adaptability, innovation, and improvisation—to navigate barriers to recognition and gain partial legitimacy in international organizations. academic.oup.com/fpa/article/...

At 32, Mart Laar set out to defy the Soviet model, armed with one economics book, Free to Choose, and the conviction that all Marxist texts were wrong. The result was Estonia, a modern state built in record time. Happy Restoration of Independence Day #Estonia 🇪🇪!

Sylë Ukshini: Roli i Politikës së Jashtme të Gjermanisë ndaj Kosovës 1990–2008 Article Sylë Ukshini: Roli i Politikës së Jashtme të Gjermanisë ndaj Kosovës 1990–2008 was published on June 1, 2025 in the journal Comparative Southeast European Studies (volume 73, issue 2).

My review of Ukshini’s book “Roli i Politikës së Jashtme të Gjermanisë ndaj Kosovës 1990–2008” is out now in Comparative Southeast European Studies. The book is in Albanian a contribution to SEE studies, grounded in German sources & rich in historical insight. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Meine Rezension zu @gezimvisoka.bsky.social Buch “The Derecognition of States” ist soeben in @sudosteuropa.bsky.social Mitteilungen (04/2025) erschienen. Das Buch bietet eine wegweisende Analyse der Aberkennung als diplomatische Praxis, die Staaten mit begrenzter Anerkennung prägt.

In the latest issue of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, I reviewed @gezimvisoka.bsky.social book “The Derecognition of States”, a pioneering work on the politics and practice of derecognition in International Relations. brill.com/view/journal...

And also my other article published in the Journal of European Integration History:
“Navigating Kosovo’s International Organisations Membership: Assessing EU Member States’ Shifting Positions”. www.nomos-elibrary.de/de/10.5771/0...

Here you can find my recently published article in the European Review of International Studies:
“Performing Sovereignty: Kosovo and the Strategies of International Integration for States with Limited Recognition”. brill.com/view/journal...

Here my latest article published in the Canadian Journal of European and Russian Studies. It examines how a handful of states leverage their influence in IO’s to hinder Kosovo’s membership, revealing the impact of politicization on IO’s. ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/CJ...

For almost 3 decades, Kosovo has benefited from a world order that enabled its liberation, independence, security & international recognition. But that same liberal order that made the modern Kosovo is fading. Whether Kosovo can wisely navigate what comes next remains to be seen.

Robert C. Austin’s “Royal Fraud: The Story of Albania’s First and Last King” is a well-summarized account of a critical period in Albanian history. While engaging, it doesn’t offer new insights beyond existing scholarship. A good read, but not groundbreaking.

In 2008, 5 EU member states chose to align their stance on Kosovo with Moscow rather than Washington. It was the EU that used the Konstantin Kosachev- Marty report as a tool to undermine Kosovo. And now, the same Europe expects to fight Russia—until the last American soldier.

In Kosovo, we’re still stuck navigating our never-ending provincial complexities—no rush. We’ll have plenty of time to grab popcorn and watch the big geopolitical blockbuster unfolding in Europe later.

Coffee, a book, and #Prishtina’s everyday buzz. Simple moments.

Kosovo is about to face a harsh reality: the world of 1999 and 2008 is long gone. Unless its political elites recognize the new global landscape, they are leading the country toward a rude awakening. In foreign policy, naivety is never the norm!

…will once again serve as the key factor facilitating Albania’s and Montenegro’s accession to the EU.

This reflects what Kaplan might describe as the “revenge of geography,” where historical and spatial realities reassert themselves over political constructs.

By 2030, it is highly plausible that Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina will come to be referred to as the Adriatic Hinterland, marking a shift from the “Western Balkans” narrative to one of geographical liminality. By that time, it appears the Adriatic…

Culture shapes geopolitics. Prussia’s wars with Russia coexisted with shared ties, like czarist commanders of Prussian origin. As U.S. commitment to Europe wavers, Germany’s path becomes uncertain—caught between history, identity, and shifting alliances.

Tanpınar once wrote that “the East is a place to sit and wait.” But history shifts its center of gravity over time & now “Europe has become a place to sit and wait.” It is a capture of the cyclical nature of historical momentum, where civilizations rise, evolve & pause, awaiting their next chapter.

As the year ends, I’m looking back on the books I read and revisited in 2024. From tech and politics to history and fiction, here’s my 2024 reading list.

The resistance of Kosovo Albanians against Yugoslavia unfolded in 3 phases: pre-1989 illegal resistance, Rugova’s peaceful reistance (1989), and the political-military struggle by the KLA. Without Rugova and the KLA, Kosovo’s history wouldn’t be what we know today.

Rugova gave the Albanian majority in Kosovo a vision of independence & belief after a century of tyranny & repression. When Kosovo’s communist Albanian leadership abandoned the people, Rugova stepped in as political voice, transforming dream of freedom into a political vision.

35 years ago, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) was founded—the first Albanian democratic political party in Southeast Europe & the largest political movement in Kosovo’s history. Under Ibrahim Rugova’s leadership, it internationalized Kosovo’s struggle & laid foundations for independence.

Serbia has interest in escalating tensions now to divert attention from its domestic challenges & exploit transition in Washington. A new phase in the continuation of the Banjska attack & #Serbia's state-sponsored terrorism. Also it will hugely exploit the deep polarized landscape in #Kosovo further

Yuval Noah Hariri: History is often shaped not by deterministic power relations, but rather by tragic mistakes that result from believing in mesmerising but harmful stories.

Given the context, Kosovo Football Federation should have anticipated challenges when playing in countries with strong pro-Serbia sentiments. It would have been wiser to arrange matches in neutral countries, minimizing political tensions and keeping the focus on the sport.

Romania exemplifies this challenge, as its close political and historical ties with Serbia have heavily influenced its stance on Kosovo’s independence. Despite numerous attempts, Kosovo's efforts to engage Romania face consistent resistance, Kosovo viewed through the Serbian lens.

Eastern Europe remains a region where Kosovo has limited diplomatic ties and lacks deeper political, economic, or cultural connections. Many countries, with their own histories and relations with Serbia, tend to be hesitant or resistant to recognizing or engaging with Kosovo.

This reflects deep-seated nationalist sentiments and resistance to Kosovo’s independence. The persistence of these chants highlights a broader issue in European football: the normalization of xenophobia and intolerance, particularly towards nations such as Kosovo.

UEFA bears responsibility for allowing this pervasive behavior to continue. But these incidents reflect a deeper issue: the political perception of Kosovo in many parts of Europe, where the far-right views it through a xenophobic lens and the left from an anti-American stance.