Within the framework of co-operation established between AFSOUTH and DiSAT (OPSAT) and in consideration of the significant commitment of the NATO in the Balkans, the Kosovo FORCE (Headquarters KFOR), in June 2003 invited the University of Salerno Advanced Research Team (USART) to visit Kosovo for the purpose of carrying out interdisciplinary studies and researches concerning the complex problematical social, economic and security issues of the Region.
The experience gained and the planning skills acquired have consented the drawing up of an analysis, preliminary to the elaboration of a feasibility study, aimed at consolidating the process of peace and of development.
The main purpose of this analysis is to provide a comprehensive picture of the Kosovo Region. The access to a wide spectrum of sources consented attention being directed towards many different factors: historical development, macroeconomic indicators, human development, institution building, peace and security enforcement, human rights and minorities situation and inter-ethnic relationships.

Germana Citarella was awarded a PhD in Geopolitics, Geostrategy and Geoeconomics from the University of Trieste in 2005. Since 2007 she has been a tenured Researcher in Geography at the Department of Legal Sciences (School of Law) and since 2009 Adjunct Professor of Organisation and Spatial Planning and Environmental Policy (Department of Business Sciences - Management & Innovation Systems (DISA-MIS) of the University of Salerno). In her role as Supervisor, Germana Citarella has carried out scientific research on relevant issues such as Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, territorial planning, sustainable tourism, public-private partnership in territorial development policies and urban security under the aegis of the Observatory for the Planning of Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning (OPSAT), the Scientific structure of the Department of Information and Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics (DIEM) of the University of Salerno. Furthermore, her latest scientific interests in the context of the study and analysis of forms of territorial organisation, also consist in the dynamics with which local communities connect environments and resources to promote a shared system of values underpinning the process of share capital accumulation.