Kosovo's membership into OIC: An opportunity or a dangerous road?

Prill 2018

In May 2018, it was announced that Kosovo would apply for observer status in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. This statement was met with an extensive public debate in Kosovo's media, academic and civil society circles. The debates were mostly instigated by the fact that OIC's scope and raison d'etre before being political, diplomatic, or economic, remains first and foremost religious. Linked to this, it was intensively debated what membership in this organization entails for Kosovo and its citizens. Concerns were raised on if membership violated Kosovo's constitutional and legal order, as well as whether the benefits outweighed the costs.

Stimulated by these debates, the following sections of this paper aim to answer this question through a triangular approach: legal, economic and diplomatic. In terms of the first angle, the aim is to offer a perspective on how membership in the OIC stands in the face of Kosovo's current constitutional and legal architecture. In terms of the economic angle, the investment mechanisms and opportunities of the OIC are discussed, hereafter offering a perspective on whether membership is worth considering regarding the economic well-being of the country. The third aspect of the paper discusses the implications of OIC membership for Kosovo's state-recognition agenda, in other words, how membership would influence Kosovo's international legitimacy and position.