In 1995, the Croatian army launched a series of huge military operations, aimed at retaking those areas of Croatia that had been under the control of the secessionist Croatian Serbs. Though military successful, the operations displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians whose lives remain blighted by what happened in the summer of 1995.

By affording Kosovo diplomatic recognition immediately after its 2008 declaration of independence, the west helped secure for the nascent republic a peaceful future, and helped avoid potential bloodshed. That future might reach a more permanent settlement with legal proceedings, opening this week at the International Court of Justice, that will eventually rule on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence.