Politics & Power Quote by Ibrahim Rugova

The pitch is dressed up as reassurance, but it’s really a blueprint for legitimacy. Rugova’s promise to “guarantee their investments” is aimed outward, at jittery capital that sees Kosovo not as a market but as a headline risk. In the late-1990s/early-2000s Balkans, “stability” wasn’t a vibe; it was the prerequisite for recognition, aid, and entry into the global economy. A state that can underwrite investment is a state that claims the tools of sovereignty, even when sovereignty is contested.

The phrasing also reveals a careful balancing act between nationalist aspiration and neoliberal pragmatism. “Tax incentives” and “privatization” signal alignment with Western development orthodoxy: open the economy, invite foreign money, turn state assets into market assets. The subtext is diplomatic as much as economic. Rugova is translating Kosovo’s political project into the language international donors and investors understand, betting that capital flows can function as a soft referendum on statehood.

Then comes the moral cushioning: “more jobs and better conditions for the workers.” It’s the necessary balm for a public that could hear “privatization” as dispossession. The line doesn’t specify protections, bargaining power, or enforcement mechanisms; it offers a promise of outcomes rather than a plan, implying that growth will trickle into dignity.

The intent, ultimately, is to fuse two audiences into one narrative: reassure outsiders that Kosovo will be investment-safe, and reassure insiders that market reform won’t mean being left behind. In that double address, Rugova exposes the central tension of post-conflict state-building: you need legitimacy fast, and legitimacy is increasingly purchased on credit.