ABSTRACT After 1999, democratization, normalization and Europeanization were the key processes through which Kosovo’s final political status was expected to take shape. All three processes, however, were guided by the stability paradigm. Though Kosovo cannot be categorized as a typical authoritarian state, its political leaders have openly displayed illiberal tendencies, governing in an unaccountable manner and utilizing public assets for their private gain. In the period from 1999 to 2008, while UNMIK’s approach was based on maintaining stability instead of democratization, a soft competitive authoritarianism began to emerge incrementally. In its first decade of independence, Kosovo’s statehood remained internationally disputed, whereas its governance culture was characterized by a lack of internal accountability, which is a key component of the soft competitive authoritarianism in the country. Thus, the negative trajectory of political developments did not change even after the deployment of EULEX and the 2008 declaration of independence. This article analyses the development of authoritarian and illiberal tendencies in Kosovo and suggests that the democratization and Europeanization discourses served to conceal soft competitive authoritarian practices in Kosovo.

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软性的竞争性威权主义和科索沃的负面稳定：从科索沃特派团到欧盟驻科法治团及其他国家的国家建设

摘要1999年以后，民主化，正常化和欧洲化是科索沃最终政治地位有望形成的关键过程。但是，这三个过程均以稳定性范式为指导。尽管不能将科索沃归类为典型的威权国家，但其政治领导人公开表现出自由倾向，以不负责任的方式执政并利用公共资产谋取私利。在1999年至2008年期间，虽然科索沃特派团的做法是基于维持稳定而不是民主化，但软性竞争性威权主义开始逐渐出现。在独立的头十年中，科索沃的建国历来是国际争议的时刻，而其治理文化的特点是缺乏内部问责制，这是该国软竞争性威权主义的关键组成部分。因此，即使在部署欧盟驻科法治团和2008年宣布独立后，政治发展的消极轨迹也没有改变。本文分析了科索沃的专制和自由主义倾向的发展，并提出民主化和欧洲化的话语掩盖了科索沃软弱的竞争性威权主义做法。