Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-20T17:26:18.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Contested war remembrance and ethnopolitical identities in Kosovo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Bekim Baliqi
Bekim Baliqi*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Pristina, Pristina, Kosovo
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between political power and war remembrance by considering the way war remembrance occurs in a divided society. The purpose of this paper is to explore memory of the violent past and its uses as an ongoing arena of disputes between former adversaries and within ethnopolitical groups pushing their distinct versions of memory. Moreover, this paper examines three key aspects of the politics of remembrance: prevalent narratives, arenas of commemoration, and agencies of war remembrance, based on the case study of Kosovo. The postwar narrative and commemoration in Kosovo have evolved along ethnic lines, perpetuating antagonism and conflicting identities. Memorialization in Kosovo raises serious challenges for comprehensive transitional justice and reconciliation between these ethnic groups. The paper concludes that through appropriate civic education, critical inquiry of commemoration practices, and especially through evidence-based adaptation of the history curriculum, there is a chance to promote a culture of shared memory and to establish inclusive politics of remembrance in Kosovo, as crucial components of reconciliation and peace-building.

Keywords

Kosovowar remembrancememoryidentityethnicitypolitical attitudes
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 471 - 483
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrighetto, Luca, Mari, Silvia, Volpato, Chiara, and Behluli, Burim. 2012. “Reducing Competitive Victimhood in Kosovo: The Role of Extended Contact and Common Ingroup Identity.” Political Psychology 33 (4): 513–529.Google Scholar
Arthur, Paige. 2011. “‘Fear of the Future, Lived Through the Past’: Pursuing Transitional Justice in the Wake of Ethnic Conflict.” In Identities in Transition: Challenges for Transitional Justice in Divided Societies, edited by Arthur, Paige, 271–302. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ashplant, T. G., Dawson, Graham, and Roper, Michael, eds. 2000. The Politics of War Memory and Commemoration. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Assmann, Aleida. 2006. “Memory, Individual and Collective.” In The Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis, edited by Godin, Robert E. and Tilly, Charles, 210–227. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Assmann, Aleida, and Shortt, Linda, eds. 2012. Memory and Political Change. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Baliqi, Bekim. 2013. “Innenpolitik und Parteiensystem im Kosovo.” In Die Republik Kosovo – Der jüngste Staat Europas. Eine politische Bestandsaufnahme seit der Unabhängigkeitserklärung, edited by Leiße, Olaf, Roth, Martin, and Gesellmann, Christian, 43–63. Baden-Baden: Nomos.Google Scholar
Baliqi, Bekim. 2017. “The Aftermath of War Experiences on Kosovo's Generation on the Move: Collective Memory and Ethnic Relations Among Young Adults in Kosovo.” Zeitgeschichte 1 (44): 6–19.Google Scholar
Barber, Brian K., ed. 2009. Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Violence. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bet-El, Ilana R. 2004. “Unimagined Communities: The Power of Memory and the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia.” In Memory and Power in PostWar Europe: Studies in the Presence of the Past, edited by Müller, Jan-Werner, 206–222. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bieber, Florian. 2005. Nationalismus in Serbien vom Tode Titos bis zum Ende der ära Milošević. Münster: LIT Verlag.Google Scholar
Burema, Lars. 2012. “Reconciliation in Kosovo: A Few Steps Taken, a Long Road Ahead.” Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe 11 (4): 7–27.Google Scholar
Cairns, Ed., and Roe, Mícheál D., eds. 2003. The Role of Memory in Ethnic Conflict. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Dahlman, Carl T., and Williams, Trent. 2010. “Ethnic Enclavisation and State Formation in Kosovo.” Geopolitics 15 (2): 406–30.Google Scholar
Devine-Wright, Patrick. 2003. “A Theoretical Overview of Memory and Conflict.” In The Role of Memory in Ethnic Conflict, edited by Cairns, Ed and Roe, Mícheál D., 9–33. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Di Lellio, Anna. 2009. The Battle of Kosova 1389: An Albanian Epic. London: I.B. Taurus.Google Scholar
Di Lellio, Anna, and Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie. 2006a. “The Legendary Commander: The Construction of an Albanian Master-Narrative in Postwar Kosovo.” Nations and Nationalism 12 (3): 513–529.Google Scholar
Di Lellio, Anna, and Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie. 2006b “Sacred Journey to a Nation: The Construction of a Shrine in Postwar Kosovo.” Journeys: The International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing 7 (1): 27–49.Google Scholar
Ermolin, Denis S. 2014. “When Skanderbeg Meets Clinton: Cultural Landscape and Commemorative Strategies in Postwar Kosovo.” Croatian Political Science Review 51 (5): 157–173.Google Scholar
Gashi, Shkëlzen. 2016. “Kosova 1912-2000 in the History Textbooks of Kosova, Albania and Serbia.” In Civic and Uncivic Values in Kosovo: History, Politics and Values Transformation, edited by Ramet, Sabrina P., Simkus, Albert, and Listhaug, Ola, 237–273. Budapest: CEU Press.Google Scholar
Gerold, Nikolaus. 2014. Mit Maschinengewehr und Heiligenschein: Hybrider Opfertod, Nationale Erinnerungskultur und Patriarchat im heutigen Kosovo. Hamburg: Disserta Verlag.Google Scholar
Höpken, Wolfgang. 1999. “War, Memory, and Education in a Fragmented Society: The Case of Yugoslavia.” East European Politics & Societies 13 (1): 190–227.Google Scholar
Hunt, N. C. 2010. Memory, War and Trauma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ingimundarson, Valur. 2007. “The Politics of Memory and the Reconstruction of Albanian National Identity in Postwar Kosovo.” History & Memory 19 (1): 95–123.Google Scholar
Jović, Nikola. 2015. “A Survey of Ethnic Distance in Kosovo.” In Perspectives of a Multiethnic Society in Kosovo, edited by Teokarević, Jovan, Baliqi, Bekim, and Surlić, Stefan 216–271. Belgrade: YIHR.Google Scholar
Kostovicova, Denisa. 2005. Kosovo, the Politics of Identity and Space. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kurze, Arnaud. 2016. “#WarCrimes #PostConflictJustice #Balkans: Youth, Performance Activism and the Politics of Memory.” International Journal of Transitional Justice 10 (3): 1–20.Google Scholar
Law on Agency for Management of Memorial Complexes in Kosovo. 2014. Official Gazette of Republic of Kosovo. http://amkmk.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Ligji-per-menaxhimin-e-Komplekseve-memoriale-shqip.pdf.Google Scholar
Mandic, Danilo. 2015. “What Kind of Burden is the Burden of History? How Young Adults in Serbia and Kosovo Use History to Understand and Experience Nationalism.” Ethnopolitics 68 (1): 1–21.Google Scholar
McDowell, Sara, and Braniff, Máire. 2014. Commemoration as Conflict: Space, Memory and Identity in Peace Processes. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Müller, Jan-Werner. 2004. “Introduction.” In Memory and Power in Postwar Europe: Studies in the Presence of the Past, edited by Müller, Jan-Werner, 1–35. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Olick, Jeffrey K. 1999. “Collective Memory: The Two Cultures.” Sociological Theory 17 (3): 333–348.Google Scholar
Olick, Jeffrey K., Vinitzky-Seroussi, Vered, and Levy, Daniel, eds. 2011. “Introduction.” In The Collective Memory Reader, 3–62. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
ÒNeill, William G. 2002. Kosovo: An Unfinished Peace. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.Google Scholar
Penic, Sandra, Elcheroth, Guy, and Spini, Dario. 2016. “When Is Collective Exposure to War Events Related to More Acceptance of Collective Guilt?” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0022002716645388.Google Scholar
Punamäki, Raija-Leena. 2009. “War, Military Violence, and Aggressive Development: Child, Family, and Social Preconditions.” In Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Violence, edited by Barber, Brian K., 62–81. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ramet, Sabrina P. 2002. Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia from the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milosevic. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Ramet, Sabrina P. 2013. “Memory and Identity in the Yugoslav Successor States.” Nationalities Papers 41 (6): 871–881.Google Scholar
Schneider, Christian, and Schneider, Henrique. 2011. “Kosovo: Die Situation Zweier Narrative.” Zeitschrift für Balkanologie 47 (1): 107–127.Google Scholar
Silber, Laura. 1996. “The ‘Hero’ of Dayton: Slobodan Milosevic and the Politics of War and Peace.” World Policy Journal 13 (1): 63–69.Google Scholar
Sommers, Marc, and Buckland, Peter. 2004. “Parallel Worlds: Rebuilding the Education System in Kosovo.” Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.Google Scholar
Strapacova, Michaela. 2015. “The Reconciliation Process in Kosovo: Under the Shadow of Ethnic Primordialist Manipulation.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 18 (1): 56–76.Google Scholar
Ströhle, Isabel. 2010. “The Politics of Reintegration and War Commemoration. The Case of the Kosovo Liberation Army.” Südosteuropa. Zeitschrift für Gegenwartsforschung 58 (4): 478–519.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Program. 2012. Perceptions on Transitional Justice in Kosovo. Pristina: UNDP Kosovo.Google Scholar
Visoka, Gëzim. 2016. “Arrested Truth: Transitional Justice and the Politics of Remembrance in Kosovo.” Journal of Human Rights Practice 8 (1):62–80.Google Scholar
Volkan, Vamik D. 2004. “Massive Trauma: The Political Ideology of Entitlement and Violence.” http://www.cairn-int.info/abstract-E_RFP_714_1047-massive-trauma-the-political-ideology.htm.Google Scholar
Vulaj, Elizabeth. 2015. “Sexual Violence During the Kosovo War: How Acknowledging Rape as a Jus Cogens Violation and Other Steps Can Bring Justice to All Victims.” Gonzaga University Journal of International Law 19:(1) 2–26. https://www.law.gonzaga.edu/gjil/2015/12/2030/.Google Scholar
Zdravković-Zonta, Helena. 2009. “Narratives of Victims and Villains in Kosovo.” Nationalities Papers: The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity 37 (5): 665–692.Google Scholar
Zirojević, Olga. 2000. “Kosovo in the Collective Memory.” In The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis, edited by Popov, Nebojša, 189–212. Budapest: CEU Press.Google Scholar