Secure Future Series No. 2- Lessons from Kosovo’s Failed Attempts to Join Interpol

On 4 November 2024, Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Ivica Dačić declared victory after the 92nd General Assembly of Interpol concluded without a vote on admitting Kosovo. Kosovo’s last application to join — its sixth — came (and was subsequently withdrawn) in 2019, having thrice failed by ballot (2015, 2016, 2018), once prior withdrawn its candidacy facing a clear defeat (2017), and once submitting its application to the General Secretariat, only for it to be denied a vote (2010). There seems to be no simple or straightforward way for Kosovo to lock up the votes needed to join Interpol. Instead, Kosovo must contend with several difficult realities.

Stephen R. Gaughan is a research intern at the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS). He is completing his final year as an undergraduate at Brandeis University in the US, where he studies politics and history.