As the crisis in Yugoslavia came to a head after 1989, Austrian foreign policy sought to help defuse the armed ethnic conflicts between the peoples of Yugoslavia, especially in relation to the worsening political situation in Kosovo, and to draw the attention of the international community to these issues. In this respect Austria led the way in comparison with other European states and took many initiatives to make the Kosovo question an international concern. Austria’s active role in the Kosovo question proved to be an early warning system. This study analyses Austria’s active role in policy towards Kosovo, as the first European state – because of its geographical proximity and historic and economic relations – to repeatedly put the Kosovo question on the agenda of European foreign policy and to draw attention to the dramatic developments in Kosovo. Austria demonstrated a special expertise and a degree of leadership in the issue of policy towards Kosovo and was thus able to win support in many areas for Kosovo.weiterlesen