Albanian Contribution to International Peacekeeping: Identity, Interests and Peacekeeping

by, Elvin Gjevori, Gezim Visoka

Abstract

This article examines Albanian contribution to international peacekeeping and explores the politics behind peacekeeping engagements. The article argues that the overarching rationale for Albanian contribution to peacekeeping derives from the desire to advance its national interest of Euro-Atlantic integration and regional security, and reconstruct state identity from a post-communist weak state to an exporter of security, vibrant democracy, and responsible state. In this realm of self-centred motivations, the discourse on international responsibility, solidarity, global peace, and security is rather more rhetorical than primary intentions of Albania for contributing to peacekeeping. Through this analysis, the article contributes to understanding ‘unintended peacekeepers’ as well as the politics of new and emerging troop-contributing countries and their practice of selfinterested solidarity in international affairs. In disentangling the mixed motives for contributing to peacekeeping, the article hold that pluralist accounts are more reliable than individual strands of theories on peacekeeping.