Republic of Kosovo What It Means to Be Republic

The label "republished Republic" is used freely, by totalitarian states and the real republics alike. But what does it mean to be the Republic? And what, specifically, does it mean for Kosovo?

Most people would agree that a republic has three fundamental characteristics. First, citizens of a republic enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms that cannot be removed by a majority, but democraticly most exercise its power. Second, a republic combines ideals of freedom and equality. Third, a republic is born and lives only by the will of the people.

Each of these features presents challenges for the government as well as for citizens. It is worth considering each of us closely as we enter an important year for the future of the Republic of Kosovo.

Basic rights and freedoms: A republic is more than a democracy: in a republic people are sovereigns, not parliament, not king or queen, not president or prime minister. This has practical implications. Great Britain, for example, is a democracy but not a republic: Westminster's parliament is sovereign and may attract the rights of a minority according to will.

Because Kosovo is a republic, the rights they enjoy under the constitution stem from substate: they do not stem from birth or property, or from ethnic affiliation. They are not given by a foreign monarch, government, or power. Hence, such rights can never be taken or removed without the favor of a citizen. Every citizen enjoys constitutional protection.

Rights and privileges based on ethnic affiliation have no place in a shaped republic. It is questionable that such rights and privileges serve only to keep people apart and to reinforce divisions. No citizen of a republic should ever have special protection. However, Kosovo's circumstances dictate that such protections will remain part of the constitution for some time, perhaps forever. This position can only change with the consent of people directly affected.

Therefore, the challenge is to actively pursue political, institutional, cultural, economic and social integration beyond what is required by law. This won't be easy. The majority population must show that full integration has more advantages for minority communities than artificially preserved differences.

The combination of ideals of freedom and equality: A republic is more than a liberal democracy: in a republic freedom must be exercised in a way that does not intervene in the common good or rights of others.

The republican ideal is built on the principle that freedom is invalid unless supported by equality. What is served by freedom for a family condemned by evil poverty and health? A society with equal access to education, health or justice cannot be described as a free society. A republic advocates fundamental freedoms that are needed for an economy to thrive through free entrepreneurship and individual initiative. But a republic also promotes democratic and social justice for all its citizens.

Democratic justice for Kosovo implies transparent governance and executive accountability in the Assembly.

Social Justice for Kosovo means law-backed institutions, which offer every citizen fundamental security: against aggression, whether domestic or external, but educational, health and labour security, environmental security, and safety to know that someone's cultural identity will not be threatened.

Therefore, the challenge for the Kosovo government is to establish institutions and economic conditions for democratic and social justice, to take root and flourish together with freedom to create economic prosperity. This cannot happen without the elimination of corruption. The challenge for the people of Kosovo is to resist corruption in all its forms and to support their laws and institutions. A republic cannot exist without law rule and free approval of citizens to rule by law.

Born and living by the will of the people: A republic is more than one state: it is a living expression of the will of the people. The status of the republic cannot be conditioned with the consent of an internal or external power.

Kosovo freedom arose from a revolution in people's minds before 2008, before the 1998-1999 war when oppression by a foreign power reached a point where human dignity could no longer cope.

Citizens of the Republic of Kosovo are sovereigns, and the Republic only acts with the will of the people. This suggests that citizens' constitutional rights, including the territorial integrity of the state, cannot be traded or softened by anyone even by their own government. That's what being a republic means.

These three features of a republic show the way forward for government and society. But there is another aspect of the republic that we always have to remember: living in a republic means being free from rule and intervention. A free person can look at others without cause for fear and lack of feelings of submission. A free country, a republic, can and should do the same in its relations with other countries as Kosovo is finally doing now.

/Michel O'Reilly is an Irish lawyer and public policy consultant, currently working as political adviser in the Kosovo prime minister's office