In Kosovo however, the situation is substantially less clear. Questions linger about what government is in control, what ethnicity and religious group that government (or those governments) represent, and what the relationship is between the current community and the historical Balkan province.
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| Animation of the Historical Borders in the Balkan Peninsula imgur user "john_andrew_smith101" |
An independent Kosovo is a historical novelty. While the memory of five centuries of Ottoman rule is still a real and painful memory for all Balkan people, unlike many other former Yugoslavian states, Kosovo had not been self-ruled since the Roman conquest of Dardania in the first century A.C.E. (Papazoglu 131). Prishtina was of prominent importance in the movement for Albanian independence, but in the collapse of the Ottoman empire Albania was nearly partitioned between Greece, Italy, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. While the US intervened on behalf of Albania, the tiny independent country only held about half of ethnic Albanians. The others found themselves exiled on their own land and ruled by Greece and Yugoslavia (specifically in Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosovo) (Jelavich 100). Despite Communist promises to unite all workers, ethnic tensions in Kosovo grew under Tito, and even during the Economic boom of the early 70s, intermarriage between Serbs and the Albanian majority were very rare; rarer than interracial marriages per capita in the 1950s. While the Balkans balkanized, Kosovo remained a part of Serbia, and the ethnic tensions became civil war (Botev 32). Two projects of genocide followed, one by the Serbs and one by the Albanians. Roma, Turk, Gorani, and Egyptian minorities suffered heavily in both. Kosovo became a UN protectorate following the Kosovo war ("UN Resolution on Kosovo"), and about a decade later it declared independence, and it has been recognized by over 100 countries, about half of the United Nations ("International Recognitions Of The Republic Of Kosovo")
Controversy
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence, and their claim to to sovereignty in Kosovo is backed by Russia and China. That means despite its widespread recognition, any bid for United Nation's membership would be vetoed. The Serbian position is that Kosovo is an semi-autonomous province called Kosovo and Metohija (or Kosmet for short), and that its government institutions are legitimate even if their claims to independence are not ("Adopting A Consensus Resolution"). Given the history of "ethnic cleansing" (i.e. genocide) in the region, there is a feeling on the part of some ethnic Serbs in Kosovo that Serbian rule, however insubstantial, is the only thing keeping them from oblivion, or sharing the fate of the Roma (most of whom still live in refugee camps throughout the former Yugoslavia). Moreover, Kosovo, while of little economic importance, is deeply important to Serbian nationalism and national identity (Anscombe 759). Based on the conversations I've had with Kosovars, Serbians, and Albanians on the internet, most people feel their governments are corrupt. I recognize that internet message boards are not a perfect sample of citizens, but I would say I have substantial anecdotal evidence that young people on the internet everywhere feel their governments are corrupt. Perhaps this is part of the nature of young people, or the nature of governments. In the case of Kosovo, their have been a few scandals involving government officials having social and financial connections with the Albanian mafia, and Several prominent political and military leaders at the time of the first Kosovo War were charged with crimes against humanity, but almost all were exonerated. Given the UN protectorship and NATO intervention in the conflicts in Kosovo, many Serbs feel that their exoneration was an example of international, Western, and NATO bias against Serbia. There is also a religious element to this conflict, as ethnically Albanian Kosovars are almost entirely Muslim, while the ethnic Serbian minority (or majority if one considers Serbia and Kosovo as a whole) are almost exclusively Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Grappling with Nationhood
A united "Greater Albania" is a 19th century dream. People's dreams of a united homeland for their ethnicity and group are always moving. It conjures images of home, community, and pride in identity. However, what counts as an ethnicity or a nationality is malleable, and any passing demagogue can make innocuous "pride in identity" and "right to self-determination" into powerful weapons to disrupt the social order and consolidate their power. As we have often seen in the Balkans, that power can then be used to commit atrocities. Even in Albania proper, there are those who would further divide the country between Ghegs and Tosks, or between Muslims, Christians, and nonreligious. I am deeply sympathetic to the suffering of the Kosovar people, and not least the ethnic Albanians. They have demonstrated their capacity to rule themselves, and Serbian rule is essentially a political fiction, I would be the last to propose re-Yugoslavization. Kosovo is a country, but our recognition of Kosovo should not merely be an acknowledgement of the political reality. How can a country move forward on a foundation of ethnic strife and genocide? (Actually historically nations have been very successful building on a foundation of ethnic strife and genocide; there is nothing like an oppressed class to bolster a ruling majority.) So in sum, there is the question of whether a nation is a political reality, and whether a nation is ethical to acknowledge.
"Adopting Consensus Resolution," UN News Center. UN, 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.un.org/press/en/2010/ga10980.doc.htm>.
Anscombe, Frederick (2006) The Ottoman empire in recent international politics II: the case of Kosovo. The International History Review 28 (4), pp. 758-793.
Botev, Nickolai. "SEEING PAST THE BARRICADES: Ethnic Intermarriage in Yugoslavia During the Last Three Decades." Anthropology of East Europe Review 11.1 (1993): 29-38. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
"International Recognitions Of The Republic Of Kosovo." Republic of Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.mfa-ks.net/?page=2,224>.
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans. Bd. 2: Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.
Papazoglu, Fanula. The Central Balkan Tribes in Pre-Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci and Moesians. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1978. Print.
"UN Resolution on Kosovo" BBC News. UN Security Council, 10 June 1999. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/371562.stm>.
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| Countries Which Recognize Kosovo's Independence Wikimedia Foundation |
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence, and their claim to to sovereignty in Kosovo is backed by Russia and China. That means despite its widespread recognition, any bid for United Nation's membership would be vetoed. The Serbian position is that Kosovo is an semi-autonomous province called Kosovo and Metohija (or Kosmet for short), and that its government institutions are legitimate even if their claims to independence are not ("Adopting A Consensus Resolution"). Given the history of "ethnic cleansing" (i.e. genocide) in the region, there is a feeling on the part of some ethnic Serbs in Kosovo that Serbian rule, however insubstantial, is the only thing keeping them from oblivion, or sharing the fate of the Roma (most of whom still live in refugee camps throughout the former Yugoslavia). Moreover, Kosovo, while of little economic importance, is deeply important to Serbian nationalism and national identity (Anscombe 759). Based on the conversations I've had with Kosovars, Serbians, and Albanians on the internet, most people feel their governments are corrupt. I recognize that internet message boards are not a perfect sample of citizens, but I would say I have substantial anecdotal evidence that young people on the internet everywhere feel their governments are corrupt. Perhaps this is part of the nature of young people, or the nature of governments. In the case of Kosovo, their have been a few scandals involving government officials having social and financial connections with the Albanian mafia, and Several prominent political and military leaders at the time of the first Kosovo War were charged with crimes against humanity, but almost all were exonerated. Given the UN protectorship and NATO intervention in the conflicts in Kosovo, many Serbs feel that their exoneration was an example of international, Western, and NATO bias against Serbia. There is also a religious element to this conflict, as ethnically Albanian Kosovars are almost entirely Muslim, while the ethnic Serbian minority (or majority if one considers Serbia and Kosovo as a whole) are almost exclusively Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Grappling with Nationhood
A united "Greater Albania" is a 19th century dream. People's dreams of a united homeland for their ethnicity and group are always moving. It conjures images of home, community, and pride in identity. However, what counts as an ethnicity or a nationality is malleable, and any passing demagogue can make innocuous "pride in identity" and "right to self-determination" into powerful weapons to disrupt the social order and consolidate their power. As we have often seen in the Balkans, that power can then be used to commit atrocities. Even in Albania proper, there are those who would further divide the country between Ghegs and Tosks, or between Muslims, Christians, and nonreligious. I am deeply sympathetic to the suffering of the Kosovar people, and not least the ethnic Albanians. They have demonstrated their capacity to rule themselves, and Serbian rule is essentially a political fiction, I would be the last to propose re-Yugoslavization. Kosovo is a country, but our recognition of Kosovo should not merely be an acknowledgement of the political reality. How can a country move forward on a foundation of ethnic strife and genocide? (Actually historically nations have been very successful building on a foundation of ethnic strife and genocide; there is nothing like an oppressed class to bolster a ruling majority.) So in sum, there is the question of whether a nation is a political reality, and whether a nation is ethical to acknowledge.
"Adopting Consensus Resolution," UN News Center. UN, 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.un.org/press/en/2010/ga10980.doc.htm>.
Anscombe, Frederick (2006) The Ottoman empire in recent international politics II: the case of Kosovo. The International History Review 28 (4), pp. 758-793.
Botev, Nickolai. "SEEING PAST THE BARRICADES: Ethnic Intermarriage in Yugoslavia During the Last Three Decades." Anthropology of East Europe Review 11.1 (1993): 29-38. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
"International Recognitions Of The Republic Of Kosovo." Republic of Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.mfa-ks.net/?page=2,224>.
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans. Bd. 2: Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.
Papazoglu, Fanula. The Central Balkan Tribes in Pre-Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci and Moesians. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1978. Print.
"UN Resolution on Kosovo" BBC News. UN Security Council, 10 June 1999. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/371562.stm>.
Interesting information. Here are a couple of goals: 1) write in a less formal voice, and 2) try to relate more to your reader. How much of this will your reader understand? How will you get them to share your interest?
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