The normalisation of bilateral relations between Serbia and Kosovo, as established by the 2013 Brussels Agreement, has run into the sands. Has the original idea dismally failed, or can the process of dialogue be re-energised?

Ian Bancroft is a writer and diplomat, who has been based in the former Yugoslavia for over a decade. He has worked for the European Union in Kosovo, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and has written extensively about Balkan affairs for a variety of publications, including The Guardian and Radio Free Europe. He has lectured on conflict and peacebuilding, and is the author of a chapter, entitled 'Reconciliation through Recognition' in 'The Yugoslav Example: Violence, War and Difficult Ways Towards Peace'. Ian has also written travel articles for, among others, Wine Spectator, The Independent and Open Democracy.

James Ker-Lindsay is visiting professor at LSEE-Research on South East Europe at the European Institute, LSE. He has written extensively on conflict, peace and security in South East Europe and secession and recognition in international politics. His books include 'Kosovo: The Path to Contested Statehood in the Balkans’ (I.B. Tauris) and ’The Foreign Policy of Counter-Secession: Preventing the Recognition of Contested States’ (Oxford University Press), which explores Serbia’s efforts to prevent the international recognition of Kosovo. He is currently completing an introductory guide to secession and state creation for Oxford University Press.