KOSOVO: A Modern Example of Nationalism

What is Nationalism? The expressed desire of a people to establish and maintain a self-governing political entity. (self determination) It has been a dominant social force in history, leading to both the creation and destruction of historic and modern states.

Ethnic nationalism: Ethnic groups that seek distinct rights for their group can be considered to have nationalistic goals. We live in an age of rising ethnic nationalism

Ethnic separatism: Occurs when one or more ethnic minorities demand independence or autonomy from a nation-state Results of rising ethnic nationalism i.Old stable multinational countries are feeling the effects — Canada, the United Kingdom ii.Some multinational countries have splintered — former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia

Ethnic separatism: The impact of possible ethnic separatism ranges from: – Simple unrest to uprisings – Forced deportations – Attempted genocides – Attempted/Actual secessions (withdrawal from a nation-state) During the 1994 genocide, Ugandan fishermen found themselves pulling dozens of bodies out of Lake Victoria. The badly decomposed bodies had traveled hundreds of miles by river from Rwanda.

Case Study: Former Yugoslavia Many ethnic groups: Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Albanians, etc. Serbs largest in country, but not the majority Complications: boundaries of ethnic groups not the same as boundaries of republics!

The Balkans: In the beginning … The Ottoman Empire, having emerged from the Middle Ages predominant in the Balkans, controlled Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at its northern fringes.

The Balkans: Eve of WW I… The Turks were driven from most of the Balkans in the 19th century and were replaced by rivalries for the region between European powers. With Russian support, an independent Serbia was born alongside an Austrian- controlled Bosnia, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Yugoslavia: Is born… The Versailles Treaty created a unified kingdom of the south Slavs -- Yugoslavia. It encompassed Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians, with the capital in Belgrade and the lion’s share of influence held by Serbs. Bosnia's Muslims were not recognized as a distinct group. Many Croats in particular would have preferred their own independence

Yugoslavia ( )

Yugoslavia: Holding it together… At the end of World War 2, a communist Yugoslavia was declared by Marshall Tito in Yugoslavia held together as a federation of six self-governing republics, although Serbs retained great influence, notably in the military. When Tito died in 1980 many expected the federation to break up but Yugoslavia was to survive for another ten years. As Communism collapsed in the late 1980’s, ethnic tensions increased due to unequal development and a growing burden of debt. Serbia's President, Slobodan Milosevic, hastened Yugoslavia's disintegration with a deliberately nationalistic appeal to Serbs.

Yugoslavia ( ’s)

Yugoslavia: Open Warfare… By 1992, the Yugoslav Federation was falling apart. Nationalism had once again replaced communism as the dominant force in the Balkans. Slovenia and then Croatia were the first to break away but only at the cost of renewed conflict with Serbia. A further conflict had broken out in Bosnia, which had also declared independence. The Serbs who lived there were determined to remain within Yugoslavia and to help build a greater Serbia. Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in carefully planned operations that become known as 'ethnic cleansing'. After three years of bitter warfare characterized by atrocities and the creation of hundreds of thousands of refugees, a U.S.-sponsored peace accord for Bosnia was signed in late 1995.

Yugoslavia: Hello Kosovo… In 1998, the Kosovo Liberation Army - supported by the majority ethnic Albanians - came out in open rebellion against Serbian rule. The international community, while supporting greater self-determination, opposed the Kosovo Albanians' (93% of the pop. In Kosovo) demand for independence. But international pressure grew on Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, to bring an end to the escalating violence in the province. Threats of military action by the West over the crisis culminated in the launching of NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia (Serbs) in March 1999, the first attack on a sovereign European country in the alliance's history.

Kosovo: We are free… In February 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo declared Kosovo's independence as the Republic of Kosovo. Its independence is recognized by 62 UN member states.

Slobodan Milosevic The International Criminal Tribunal charged Milošević with alleged crimes against humanity, violating the laws or customs of war, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and alleged genocide for his role during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Milošević conducted his own defense, but the trial ended without a verdict because he died during the proceedings, after nearly five years in the War Criminal Prison in The Hague.