This book explains the international engagement with the Kosovo conflict from the dissolution of Yugoslavia to Operation Allied Force. It shows how Kosovo was deliberately excluded from the search for peace in Yugoslavia before going on to demonstrate how a shaky international consensus was forged to support air strikes in 1999. In doing so, it exposes many of the myths and conspiracy theories that have developed about the war and explains the dilemmas facing actors in this unfolding drama.

Preface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Chronology of Events Introduction Kosovo and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia The Absence of Prevention Towards Intervention The Kosovo Verification Mission From Rambouillet to Paris NATO Goes to War The Triumph of Diplomacy Conclusion Notes Index

ALEX J. BELLAMY is Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland. Prior to this he lectured in defence studies for King's College London. His work includes A Centuries-old Dream? The Formation of Croatian National Identity and, with Stuart Griffin and Paul Williams, Understanding Peacekeeping.