Humanitarian Coercion: Assessing the Strategic Role of Non-State Actors in the Kosovo War

This article analyses the strategic role of NGOs, the global media, and international criminal courts in the Kosovo war. I argue that the global media, NGOs, the internal displacement of peoples, and international criminal courts are not simply instrumental to the exercise of state power, but are independent factors that actively shape the coercer's strategic policy. Three claims serve as the basis of my argument: first, humanitarian suffering, as evidenced by flows of internally displaced peoples, NGOs and media reporting, bolsters the credibility of the coercer's threats and demands; second, the risk that state leaders may be tried for war crimes unless they comply with the coercer's demands expands the scope of the coercive success; and, third, the demand for peace-building measures enhances the prospects for compliance.