Kosovo, Serbia, NATO & Ukraine: Edward P. Joseph Explains a Balkans Strategy

An exclusive interview examining a Balkans-centered strategy to weaken Russian influence and strengthen Ukraine’s position.

Edward P. Joseph is a leading American voice on the Balkans and a prominent expert on conflict management, diplomacy, and democratic resilience in fragile regions. He is currently a Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a widely respected foreign policy analyst with more than 15 years of experience working in some of the world’s most volatile conflict and post-conflict environments.
In recent months, Joseph has attracted significant attention in Washington policy circles for his Balkans-centered strategic initiative aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position and weakening Russian influence in Europe. His proposal — to bring Serbia into NATO while applying elements of the Kosovo model to Ukraine’s Donbas region — was discussed at a U.S. congressional hearing and elaborated in his SAIS analysis, “Balkans Breakthrough for Ukraine: Bring Serbia into NATO, the Kosovo Model into the Donbas.”
Joseph has worked extensively in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, leading high-stakes negotiations, election observation missions, and crisis response efforts. During the Bosnian war, he coordinated the evacuation of Žepa amid the Srebrenica massacres, negotiating directly with Serb commander Ratko Mladić — an experience that later contributed to landmark war crimes proceedings at The Hague. As Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, he played a decisive role in defusing a potentially violent confrontation between Belgrade and Pristina, earning recognition from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Beyond field operations, Joseph is a prolific policy commentator and author, with more than 50 published articles in leading international outlets, including Foreign Affairs, where his essay “The Balkans, Interrupted” was named one of the magazine’s Best of 2015. He is the former Executive Director of the Institute of Current World Affairs and currently serves as President of the National Council on U.S.-Libya Relations. His policy research includes the influential January 2021 SAIS–Wilson Center report on European non-recognition of Kosovo and its destabilizing impact on the region, as well as numerous analyses on NATO, EU enlargement, and democratic resilience.
A U.S. Army veteran and trained helicopter pilot, Joseph holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. He speaks Serbo-Croatian, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Parts of this video was screened at the international conference "Defending Democracy: Horizons of Freedom" on December 12, in Skopje, as part of the Panel I: War in Ukraine, Hybrid War in Europe & the Global Democratic Struggle.
Full conference video:    • Horizons of Freedom: European & Global Per...  
Full text of the speechl: https://civil.today/ukraine-is-commit...
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