The 1980s caught Albanians in Kosova in interesting social, political, and psychological circumstances. Two diametrically opposed dogmatic dilemmas took shape: “illegal groups” – considerably supported by students – demanded the proclamation of the Republic of Kosova and/or Kosova's unification with Albania. On the other side of the spectrum, “modernists” – gathering, among others, the political and academic elites – pushed for the improvement of rights of Kosovars guaranteed under the “brotherhood and unity” concept advocated within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This paper outlines the nature of demonstrations that took place in March and April 1981 and the corresponding responses of political and academic elites. Stretching beyond symbolic academic reasons – demands for better food and dormitory conditions – the study points to the intense commitment of the students to their demands, often articulated in nationalistic terms. Was it inevitable that the structure of the SFRY would lead to those living in Kosova as a non-Slavic majority in a federation of “Southern Slavs” to articulate demands for national self-rule? It is necessary to highlight these political and social complexities through analytical approaches in order to track the students' goals and to reexamine assumptions behind the “modernist” agenda. In that vein, the paper analyzes the conceptual connections and differences between student reactions and modernists' positions during the historical period under discussion here.

This study focuses on the social wellbeing of older migrants in Italy, an important yet neglected topic in the Italian political and scholarly debate. Knowledge about the lived experience of loneliness and its perceived causes was gathered by means of 34 in-depth interviews with Albanian and Moroccan migrants aged 50 and above living in the Marche region. Our findings show that the participants are surrounded by family and are largely satisfied with the contact they have with relatives; this protects them from social isolation but not from loneliness. Although they rarely express this to their spouse and friends (men) or their children (men and women), feelings of loneliness are widely experienced among the participants. The root of their loneliness largely relates to a lack of meaningful relationships with non-related age peers – having a chat, remembering old times, socialising with others when family members are busy, talking about intimate matters they cannot or will not share with relatives – which supports the argument of loneliness scholars that different types of relationships serve different functions and fulfil different needs. Having more contact with people outside the family circle, especially with co-ethnic peers, could reduce these feelings of loneliness substantially, but factors such as discrimination and lack of Italian language proficiency, free time, financial resources and nearby contact facilities are hindrances. These factors offer clues for public loneliness interventions.

Until 1999, Kosovo was a little-known province of Serbia. NATO's intervention, however, changed this. Suddenly, everyone was talking about Kosovo and the plight of the Kosovo Albanians. Today, Kosovo is no longer a major talking point; few authors are now writing about post-independence Kosovo and the many challenges that confront the young state. Particularly striking is the relative absence of scholarly writings that discuss the Gordian knot of northern Kosovo. Seeking to rectify this neglect, this article has three core aims: to provide new empirical insights into the situation on the ground in northern Kosovo, to explore Serb and Albanian viewpoints regarding the status of the north (and in particular to examine Serb fears and concerns) and to discuss possible solutions. It argues that granting the north a special, autonomous status within Kosovo is the ultimate way to resolve the “northern problem,” and indeed this now seems the most likely solution following the recent conclusion of the First Agreement on Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations. This research is based on five weeks of fieldwork in Kosovo in July and August 2012. During this time, the author conducted 56 semi-structured interviews, 29 of which took place in northern Kosovo.