Summary of the Week 50

That votes are counted for an entire month after polling stations close is unrealistic, but it happens. That agreed-upon agreements are honored would be realistic, but it doesn’t happen. That random passersby are mistakenly arrested is neither realistic nor should it ever happen, but it does. Both in reality and in the weekly Summary.

What is realistic and what is impossible often depends on the observer. However, even when something is clearly unrealistic—like this week's accidental arrest in North Mitrovica—it doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

"The kids were just passing by, and they picked them up from the street. I mean, this is… I don’t even know how to express it," says the father of one of the arrested boys, struggling to describe what happened.

Sometimes, clear expression and definitions are insisted upon, while at other times, as seen this week in Paris, reality alone is enough for important decisions.

For legal expert Milan Antonijevic, the decision by the Political Committee of the Council of Europe comes as no surprise:

"There is indeed a huge number of incidents being pointed out, and I believe that the parliamentarians in the Council of Europe have correctly noticed and acted accordingly," says Antonijevic.

To some, it’s obvious; to others, unrealistic. The sharpness of one’s perspective and decision-making is often softened by the distance from which they observe. This is how analysts are interpreting the diaspora’s votes these days.

"Diaspora voters," says analyst Belgzim Kamberi, "see Mr. Kurti as a man who will restore some kind of order in Kosovo."

Proposals continue to arrive from afar. Up close, they seem difficult to achieve.

"Direct negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina at this moment are not feasible," says Aleksandar Sljuka from the "New Social Initiative." Pristina-based analyst Rahman Pacarizi also believes that the two sides cannot move forward without mediation.

"The United States must be involved in the dialogue and play a central role," says Pacarizi.

Other ideas, proven unworkable in practice, are also being revived—such as territorial division.

"Territorial division always seems feasible in theory, but when it comes to practice, it’s always difficult to determine where the line should be drawn," says Helena Ivanov, a research associate at the Henry Jackson Institute.

Besides location, timing is also crucial when drawing that line between desire and reality. Or sometimes, as in the case of the closures of establishments in the north that were expected to deliver much, it’s best to wait—until reality itself proves that the idea was neither smart nor profitable.