THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET ON CIVIC [DENTITY IN KOSOVO
HANAMARKU
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1*1 Canada Abstract
This study provides a starting point tor investigating the Internet as a new factor in understanding the Republic of Kosovo's public sphere. The social and political implications of a public in the online realm destabilizes and redefines the role and identity of the "citizen" in Kosovo, piovidmg a place for Kosovars in global cultural flows with legards to progressive social causes. The recent history of Kosovo's media and a review of the literature on Kosovo's existing public sphere, when paned with distinct case studies from Kosovo's online landscape, provide new ground for discussing the role of the citizen in Kosovo. The emergence of an active "counteipublic" in Kosovo's online realm creates conditions for meaningful democracy, as well as entry into the arena of global social issues.
IV Acknowledgements
This work would not exist without the support and guidance of my supervisor, Professor Daniel Drache.
I would also like to think all of the members of my committee, Professors Allen, Feldman, Bailey and Winland for their support and encouragement.
The GAP Institute for Advanced Studies in Prishtina, Kosovo enabled the interviews in this work to take place, and also provided irreplaceable encouragement and advice during my time there.
A special thank you is dedicated to Arianit Dobroshi, for his feedback and patience with my endless emails.
I dedicate this work to my family.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Theories of the Public Sphere 1-4
2. The History of Kosovo's Public Sphere 5-18
3. The State of the Media in Kosovo 19-25
4. The Internet in Post-1999 Kosovo 26-77
5. Issues of Citizenship and Identity in Kosovo 78-93
6. Conclusion 94-101
vi LIST OF TABLES
1. Table I. Kosovo Thanks You p.31
2. Table 2. Kosovo Two Point Zero p.36
3. Table 3. New Kosova Report p.40
4. Table 4. Visit Kosova p.48
5. Table5.TPAK p.51
6. Table 6. Kosovo, Young Europeans p.57
7. Table7.EULEX....p.61
8. Table 8. Kosovo's Major Online Newspapers....p.66
9. Table 9. Bias in Kosovo's Online Print....p.69
vn CHAPTER 1 Theories of the Public Sphere
In theory, the Internet provides a decentered platform for a public sphere constituted by a range of interests and societal groups to engage and debate with one another. This sphere is the antithesis of the Habermasian, deliberative public sphere of "neutral" bourgeois liberals. Bradwell and Reeves
(2008) provide a clear and balanced assessment of how networking technologies are being used and could be used - they correctly state that the normative value of networking and communication technology that allows for networking is dependent on choices. The internet, arguably the ultimate realm of networked communities, has the same proclivities towards and against conformity, grouplhink. self-interest and regression as offline communities. I am interested in how this dynamic functions in Kosovo, one of the world's youngest states and the last country to emerge from the wars of
Yugoslavia. This chapter will lay out the philosophical underpinnings of the politically progressive possibilities of community formation online, drawing from existing research on democracy, citizenship and the Internet. The concept of the "counterpublic" is of particular interest, as the definition of counteipublics and the conditions under which they can emerge will be the "measuring stick" by which
Kosovo's online public sphere will be measured.
The benefit of the Internet for progressive and/or unfairly marginalized communities is the ability to communicate on a broad platform. In Why Societies Need Dissent, Sunstein (2003) states that with confidence and consistency, minorities have the ability to convert majorities and can also provide the "voice of dissent" that can introduce moderation to extreme political and social positions. Also, communities which feel like the norms of their community of peers is more legitimate than institutional law will be more likely to violate the law - this can take the form of socially regressive/hateful positions, but also of civil disobedience - the organization of this kind of disobedience is possible 1 online with aiguably less lestnction than offline initiatives In teims of the ongins of lesistance online, both Held (L998) and Fiasei (2007) addiess similai issues the necessity ot the lecognition of multiplicity, and the seaich for a means by which to cooidinate and adrmmstei a netwoiked public spheie Held calls foi the stiengthenmg of existing international bodies such as the UN and the EU, as well as transnational institutions that could piovide noims for political, social and economic governance in recognition of the mcieasmg "oveilappmg of communities of fate" (p 168) Held's model of cosmopolitan demociacy necessitates the acceptance of multiplicity, coopeiation and mclusiveness at the nation-state and cioss boidei community level - but can aiguably only come into being when something like Fiasei's vision ot the public spheie is in piactice Fiasei's public spheie has embedded into it "paiticipatoiy panty" a lecogmtion of diffeience, "multicultuial hteiacy" a bluned sepaiation between pnvate and public, and a lough median of social equality Paiticipatoiy panty and multicultuial hteiacy assumes a public spheie which is both open and fiee - m the case of Kosovo international observers have stated that Kosovo's media suffers fiom an enviionment of self-censoiship and political bias, creating a public spheie which is uninformed and apathetic
Bradwell and Reeves discuss networks in terms of changing organizational attitudes towaids networking technology, but also provide valuable insights in teims of the range of uses to which it could be applied They recognize that networking can generate a kind of personal capital that is difficult to quantify and acquire It provides empowerment and destabilizes up-down hierarchies - and in a context such as Kosovo, it creates a space for debate and discussion not piesent in more
"traditional" media such as newspapers, television and radio As Bradwell and Reeves note, the power of networking tools lies in the difficulty of their "management" - whether through organizations or community norms (p 66) Similarly, the way communities and societies perceive the public sphere and
2 civil identity will influence the way they foim online communities.
The Question of Civil Identity and Networks
This study will not only deteimine the possibilities foi "progiessive" internet usage in Kosovo, but will also explore the ways m which changing definitions of the public sphere and the citizen in
Kosovo will affect the ways m which networked platforms are used. The constitution of the metaphorical "group" or "collective" can point to the ways in which networked technology will be used i.e. a group which overwhelmingly feels affinity with the "law" (as a metaphor for the status quo, institutional right, the mainstream) will be less inclined to use networking technology for protest or civil disobedience, whereas a group which feels little affinity with the "establishment" will be more inclined to use netwoikmg technology to organize resistance. Somewhere in between these two positions he communities that engage m discourse across the social and political spectrum; that could not have come together without the network, and that share at least a minimal desne to identify or serve a recognizable common good.
Drache's Defiant Publics (2008) is correct in stating that the new public sphere of the information age is not inherently "good" - the realm of social discourse has been flattened so that all opinions, even the hateful can be broadcast with no consequence - but it has also given citizens more opportunities to exercise reason in a public way. This ability to debate, persuade, argue and critique - to communicate to publics - shapes public opinion and is a key component of "soft power". Citizens who engage m "the public exercise of reason" are also engaging in a form of "micro-activism". Their activity involves questioning power and traditional forms of authority, and thus involves the creation of
"counteipublics" - groups which impact public opinion through their ability to incite reactions and articulate a political message (p.117). Counteipublics are commonly involved in progressive projects
3 regarding social inclusion, human security, individual fieedom and the building of communities. At the other end of the political spectrum, "discourses of conformity" promote the idea of the self-interested individual and the "traditional" values of patnaichy and religion (p. 136). Somewhere in between these positions reside "the undecided" and "the waverers", who aie sympathetic to the ideas of conformtsm, but antagonistic to being treated like guinea pigs - hence their ability to fuel the growth of "sceptical" and "contrarian" groups (p. 134). Regardless of the political or ideological stripe, the virtual public sphere exercises "soft power" in its puie foim - and is a formidable opponent to institutional use of the same power. Soft power is no longer an avenue of power pursued by elites or traditional figures of authonty, it is engaged in by an increasingly literate and incieasingly active global public. The virtual lealm enables a multitude of voices to compete and cooperate for then causes, but also requires literacy and engagement at the individual level Similar online communities present m Kosovo gravitate towaids "hubs" of discussion in the foim of news and cunent affairs websites that allow for commentary and discussion - where the majority of the spectrum group "types" discussed above can be identified. They serve as a barometer of public opinion, and as a potential site where political and social positions can be formed and crystallized. What characterizes Kosovo's public sphere? Under what conditions has it developed, and what is the nature of public discourse on political and social issues as a result?
4 CHAPTER TWO A Recent History of Kosovo's Public Sphere
An analysis of the current phase of Kosovo's public sphere is best understood as a continuum of development of discourses, spanning: a) the social realist body of work from the post World War Two era until the disruption of the 1980's, b) the semi-legal and incendiary Albanian press of the 1990's, and c) the flux of transition from the post-1999 and post-independence period. This continuum, placed against the historical context of Kosovo's struggle for independence, provides the backdrop for discussing the characteristics of Kosovo's public sphere and later development.
The Kosovo Conflict in Context
Kosovar Albanian journalist and media scholar Besnik Pula's (2004) analysis of Kosovo"s public sphere during the 1990's asserts that the root of the Kosovo conflict was not the continuation of
"historical ethnic hatreds", but rather a cause and effect reaction to the political and economic dynamics that led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia (p. 797). Kosovo's shadow government and its ensuing parallel public sphere were sparked by a multitude of factors: intense debate regarding constitutional reform in Yugoslavia, the mismanagement of state-owned enterprises, local Kosovar politics, Serbian policies towards Kosovo and changes occurring across Europe during the 1980's and
1990's - factors which, in conjunction with one another formed a conscious political project for the liberation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia. According to Pula, the parallel government consisted of a "loose conglomeration of educational and cultural institutions, health services, social assistance networks, political parties, local financial councils and a government-in-exile, all nominally coordinated by a political centre led by the Democratic League of Kosovo and its leader Ibrahim Rugova" (p.810).
The beginning of the 1980's was characterized by Yugoslavia's economic crisis and massive
5 riots in Kosovo over longstanding social and economic problems in the province (Pula, p.800). The
Yugoslav federation's aid investment of the 1960's and 1970's had industrialized Kosovo's previously agricultural economic base. Kosovo still remained the poorest part of Yugoslavia, but industrialization and urbanization did transform Kosovo's social structure by creating an administrative and industrial middle class (International Crisis Group, 1998, p.9). However, the economic stagnation of Yugoslavia hit Kosovo particularly hard, with an unemployment rate of 60% by the mid 1980's. Poor economic planning at the federal and provincial level in previous decades also had consequences: in 1980, one in every four employed Kosovar was a relatively well-paid civil servant, but by the mid 1980's employment growth in the administrative sector was faster and larger than that of the industrial sector, upon which production depended (2004, Pula, p.801).
The fear of decentralization from Serbia and "Albamanization" in Kosovo (classified as an
"autonomous region" in Yugoslavia) were partly due to measures of positive discrimination undertaken in the 60's and 70's to correct the underemployment of Albanians in the state sector (Simons, 2000, p.309). By 1981 77% of the population was Albanian, although throughout the 70's Serbs had on average higher incomes, better positions, and were disproportionately presented in Kosovo's party leadership (Pula, 2004, p.802). The demographics of Kosovo, which favoured ethnic Albanians, and the separation of Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia from the Yugoslav federation spurred a movement in
Serbia towards greater centralization. The constitutional reforms of 1992 revoked Kosovo and
Vojvodina's provincial autonomy, and merged them with the state of Serbia.
The ensuing repressive measures for greater unification and centralization with Serbia created a barrier between Kosovo's Serbs and Albanians. Initially, Kosovar Albanians' demands were not for independence, but for the upholding of Kosovo's autonomy as set out in Yugoslavia's constitution of
6 1974. One of the largest national protests of the 1980's occurred in November 1988, when miners of
Kosovo's largest mine Trepca staged a massive protest against constitutional changes and for the defense of the constitution of 1974 (Clark, 2000, p.47). The march began with 3000 miners and ended with 300,000 Kosovars marching in the defense of their autonomy and the Yugoslavian constitution of
1974. On the sixth day of the strike, provincial politicians submitted their resignations, which were refused by Belgrade. By March, Serbia declared a state of emergency in Kosovo and arrested protest organizers (Clark, 2000, p.49). Protesting on this platform subverted claims of Albanian nationalism and united the working class of Kosovo on the basis of Yugoslavian socialism, and later on, the right to self-determination.
By the early 1990's Kosovo's Albanian population became increasingly vocal in expressing their dissatisfaction with Yugoslavia's constitutional changes and the heavy-handed ways in which
Serbian authorities attempted to enforce them (International Crisis Group, 1998, p.l 1). The disintegration of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe fed hopes that a regime change could occur in
Kosovo as well, and created a public sphere that valued pluralism and Western-style democracy (Pula,
2004, p.804). The first independent trade unions and human rights groups in Kosovo appeared at this time - as well as Kosovo's first democratically elected party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
The LDK was formed in 1989 by a group of writers and intellectuals with no political background - while most LDK members were drawn from the rank and file members of the Socialist Alliance for
Working People of Kosovo (Pula, 2004, p.805). Kosovar Albanians became increasingly tied to their own local non-political organizations, while Serbs in Kosovo remained loyal to Belgrade.
Despite the non-ethnic nature of Kosovo Albanians' initial protest in the 1980's and early to mid-1990's, the violence of the state came down on Albanians, driving a wedge between Kosovo's
7 Albanian and Serbian communities and ensuring that an inter-ethnic liberal movement could not come into being (International Crisis Group, 1998, p.9). A situation was created which resembled that of "two solitudes", in which Kosovo Serbs felt no inclination to call for greater decentralization from Serbia, while Kosovo Albanians did not incur any benefit from governmental reforms occurring within Serbia proper. Although Serbia's first multiparty elections were held in December 1990, during the fall of the same year Kosovo's Assembly had declared its independence and was suspended by the Serbian
Assembly. By the summer of 1990 all of Kosovo's provincial goveming institutions were suspended or dissolved by force - since Kosovo's lack of autonomy status meant that it was not an independent political entity entitled to an assembly or parliament (Pula. 2004, p.805). Employment policies of positive discrimination ceased, and massive lay-offs of Albanian employees occurred, as well as the suppression of the Albanian education system, the shutting down of Albanian language media and any open demonstration of dissent (Clark. 2000, p.70-92).
In response to these measures, in the summer of 1990 Kosovo's Assembly publicly declared
Kosovo's independence. Serbia responded by shutting down the Assembly and all of Kosovo's provincial administrative organs. The Assembly met secretly and created a constitution - the
Constitution of Kacanik of September 1990 (International Crisis Group, 1998, p. 10). This marked the beginning of Kosovo's "parallel government" lead by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
LDK president Ibrahim Rugova's parallel government was able to gather taxes, provide health and educational services to Albanian citizens in Kosovo, and became heavily involved in human rights reporting and international lobbying for the cause of autonomy. This government established a monitoring network and strategies of protest through nonviolent means. This was possible in the cities, but less so in rural areas where the Serbian Ministry of the Interior sent special forces on regular
8 random house raids for "weapons searches" which usually led to arrests, beatings and sometimes deaths - provoking violent responses from Kosovan civilians and calls for non-violence from the LDK
(Clark, 2000, p.78). Differing conceptions of resistance and the intensification of heavy handed Serbian security measures in Kosovo entrenched the position of LDK leaders and awakened the solidarity of members of Kosovo's public life - Kosovo's Youth Parliament (a Communist youth organization) created some of the most creative and non-violent campaigns of non-violent resistance of the 1990's and often worked in collaboration with working class unions or the LDK (Pula, 2004, p.810).
Discourses of Kosovo's Press
The diverse yet unified nature of Kosovo's parallel governing structures is reflected in the differing opinions expressed in Kosovo's Albanian-language media prior to NATO's intervention in
1999 - not all outlets endorsed the LDK, but by the 1990's nearly all semi-independent outlets believed in the independence of Kosovo. All Albanian-language media in Kosovo was subjected to different forms of official and unofficial repression and censorship by the Serbian state, and had to find creative methods to circumvent censorship and surveillance, as well as the threat of physical violence.
Journalist and public commentator Shkelzen Maliqi (1987) provides a nuanced and detailed portrait of Kosovo's mediascape from the post-World War Two era in an essay titled The Kosovar
Information Monopoly (Monopoli Informative Kosovar). Maliqi describes the way in which heavily censored social realist discourse dominated the majority of Albanian-language print from 1945 until the
1970's, due to the system of party censorship embedded in Kosovo's major media institutions and bureaucracy. Maliqi (1987) states that the media in Yugoslavian Kosovo were instruments of public opinion control, and that from the 1960's until approximately the 1980's Kosovan press consisted of agitprop literature - material meant to emancipate and educate (p. 128). Maliqi takes the position that
9 while this was necessary in the short term, the enthusiasm of the first Albanian newspapers quickly waned after a resolution of Yugoslavia's Information Bureau cut off of all cultural ties between Kosovo and Albania. Local Kosovan politicians and Yugoslavian secret police exercised harsh and heavy censorship on Albanian print, particularly those that dealt with the traditions, culture and history of
Albanians. During this period, cryptographic literature became an alternative form of political dissent:
"an entire school of cryptographic writing was built, which to this day exerts its influence as an artistic style. The scheme is simple: articles in prose and poetry, which boil over with generalizations (usually in an imagined time and place in an unspecified past), exclusively hidden cryptographic signs, symbols, allusions and hidden messages are placed in them" (Maliqi, 1987, p. 129).
The mainstream press, however was characterized by social realist genre writing, which celebrated the successes of communism without critical engagement with the social and political problems that emerged from the "socialist reconstruction" of Kosovo (Maliqi, 1987). The press, according to Maliqi, ignored the basic contradiction of this reconstruction; that with the opening of
"schools and scientific and cultural institutions, Kosovo was on the road to full national emancipation; while at the same time, that road was blocked with thousands of restrictive obstacles of Rankovician albanophobic policy, slowing down the process of emancipation"(p.l30). Maliqi states that the obfuscation of the oppressive nature of Yugoslavian administration in Kosovo, as well as other injustices had heavy consequences in the decades to come. The constitution of 1974, which decentralized certain sectors of Yugoslavia and redefined the relationship of the republics and autonomous provinces to the federation, allowed for an increase in the freedom of the press as well as cultural and educational cooperation with Albania. The period of post-World War Two repression in
Kosovo were taboo topics - the initial waves of public critique of Rankovic's time was halted by
10 Kosovo's provincial bureaucracy in order to "foiget the wounds of the past and to return to the future"
(Mahqi, 1987, p 130)
On the other hand, Kosovo's Albanian press didn't cover any of Kosovo's pressing social and political problems. The bulk of Kosovo's press celebrated the freedom to discuss Kosovo's Albanian history and tiaditions, as well as the possibility of the creation of a unified, national cultural space - while still writing firmly within the constraints of social realist discourse. The result was a mediascape controlled by a political system which celebrated the past while "enslaving the present" by ignoring it
(Maliqi, 1987, p. 132). This discourse was bolstered by the Rilmdja1 publishing house, Kosovo's only national publishing house which punted and distributed all of the newspapeis, books and magazines icad in Kosovo. Rilmdja played its part in creating and maintaining this discourse thiough its editorial practice of banning "forbidden" authors and preventing refused texts liom going through more than one editorial team. If Rilmdja would not publish a piece of written work, there was a veiy small chance it would get published elsewhere in Kosovo.
Maliqi states that the protests of 1981 were a turning point for Kosovo's mediascape - after the initial counter-propaganda against Albanian nationalism and the reaffirmation of the Tightness of the political course of socialist Kosovo (and blaming the protesters for "deviating"), the executive staff of
Rilmdja was symbolically replaced with new management - who were meant to introduce a new,
The Rilindja (Albanian, meaning "Rebirth") publishing house came into being in 1945, by an act of
Kosovo's provincial parliament. It is Kosovo's oldest modern publishing houses, and employed a staff of 500 people involved in the publication of over forty Albanian language newspapers and periodicals by the late 1980's (164 Dix).
Before its closure in 1990, Rilindja published 90 percent of Albanian language literature, penodicals, newspapers and textbooks in Yugoslavia (5 Elsie).
11 politically "model ate" position to Kosovo's news piactice and journalism, although Maliqi doesn't expiess any optimism foi cntical journalism within the institutional and ideological constraints of the
Rilindja publishing house
The issue of a unified culluial Albanian space within Yugoslavia was also a politically chatged issue, with long teim effects on the development of Kosovo's public spheie The fiosty lelationship between Yugoslavia and Albania didn't thaw until the 1970's, when Yugoslavia decided that ethnic mmonties could seive as "budges" of coopeiation between Yugoslavia and neighbounng countues
(Maliqi, 1989, p 260) Coopeiation (albeit undei close obsei vation) between Kosovo and Albania in the fields of education, academia and cultuie took place at a lapid pace thioughout the 1970's Maliqi states that foi the most part this coopeiation took place with the piesencc of "buieauciatic neuiosis on both sides , since it occuned as the lesult of a political dictate fiom Yugoslavia's cential authonties, as opposed to a spontaneous dynamic of lelationship-buildmg (p 260)
After the demonstiations of 1981, all cultuial coopeiation between Kosovo and Albania ceased
This was felt the most stiongly in teims of shanng publications Even though by this time Kosovo had its own Albanian cultuial and scientific institutions, the lack of coopeiation with Albania created difficulties in obtaining Albanian literature legally and in remaining in touch with the latest developments in Albanian academics (Maliqi, 1989)
Kosovar academic Sahadete Limani's study Paradigms of the Relationship between Civil
Society and Media in Kosovo describes Kosovo's mediascape of the 1980's and 1990's in particular, and piovides a nuanced picture of the legacy of Kosovo's public sphere Limani (2004) describes the official public discouise of the 1980's as moderate in tone though heavily censored, and also discusses tracts and sporadically printed newspapers which were "incendiary" in content, since they shared the
12 same political agenda: the promotion of Kosovo from "autonomous province" to a full republic in the
Yugoslavian Federation, or outright independence. "Radical" tracts and papers were printed and distributed in secrecy, and the authors of articles hid their identities with pseudonyms. None of them stayed in print for very long, but they were among the few sources of uncensored local information and political discussion in Kosovo. More often than not, the creators of Kosovo's illegal Albanian press were students, who believed in Albanians' right to self-determination within Yugoslavia and faced police detainment and convictions for expressing this publicly. The uncensored tracts and papers printed by these students offered an alternative to mainstream, heavily censored Yugoslavian media in
Kosovo (both Serbian and Albanian) - they offered a space where dissenting thoughts could be expressed and politicized (Limani, 2004).
In 1990. Yugoslavia's parliament dissolved Kosovo's legislature and revoked its status as an autonomous province. What followed in the 90's were a series of measures to "Serbianize" Kosovo through massive lay-offs of Albanian Kosovars and the oppression of Albanian culture, language-use, education and media (Limani, 2004). Any openness of the public sphere ceased to exist, leaving only the official state discourse and later on, the movement for liberation.
Reporting During Wartime Kosovo
Florian Bieber (2000) and Thomas Keenan (2001) both state that Kosovo was the first "Internet war", during which publications and broadcasts by traditional media were accompanied with real-time, online reporting. The internet had been available in Yugoslavia since 1991, but had limited penetration due to technical and political barriers. When fighting officially began in Kosovo in the winter of 1999 the number of Internet connections in Yugoslavia leaped dramatically, and the medium of the Internet began to be perceived as an important platform for both personal reports from the war and independent
13 journalism (Bieber, p. 124) During this period, the number of Internet connections in Yugoslavia went up from 25,000 to 55,000, although it is unclear how many of these connections weie located in
Kosovo (Bieber, p.125). NGOs and independent media in Serbia and other foimer Yugoslav lepublics had already been using the Internet as a platform through which to call for peace, paiticulaily though web broadcasts during the Bosnia conflict.
In the case of Kosovo, Keenan states that Kosovo's diaspora communities were the first to establish an online presence m news from and about Kosovo - the Internet piovided a faster, cheapei connection to home, making it a more attractive method of communication (p.543). The online diaspora activity of both Albanians and Serbs gave them audiences and influence, despite their small numbers. Dunng the Kosovo wai, Serbian authorities established websites to discredit Albanian claims of genocide and mistreatment, while personal useis conducted "hacking wars" against Albanian or
Serbian sites. Albanian Kosovo Libeiation Aimy (KLA) sympathizers also hacked onto pnvate Serbian websites with pro-KLA content ( Bieber, 2000).
Dix (2000) discusses how independent media such as Koha Ditore (The Daily Times) developed a web presence in the late 1990's through its website, and provided on the ground information that kept Albanians beyond Kosovo informed (p. 168) about events occurring the conflict.
Privately funded Albanian news sites allowed for the Diaspora and Albanian Kosovars to build links and maintain contacts. Without access to "traditional" electronic media and operating in repressive conditions, the Internet proved to be a valuable tool for networking and communication.
Solidarity within the Albanian Kosovar community created suitable conditions for a resistant public sphere, strengthened by the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and Serbian state repression.
The best way for Kosovan media outlets to respond to Serbian legal and financial restraints and
14 policing was to constantly transform themselves and to remain mobile (Dix, 2000). The newspaper
Bujku appropriated material fiom Rihndja's Switzerland edition, and was staffed with former Rilindja publishing house employees. RTVP worked out an arrangement for a daily Kosovar satellite progiam, run by former RTVP staff and paid for in part by members of the parallel public sphere. Koha Ditore relocated to Macedonia when it was no longer safe to continue publication in Prishtina, and distributed the paper for free in Macedonian refugee camps of Albanian Kosovars. By constantly adapting to lestnctive conditions, Kosovo's media was able to escape total silencing (Dix, 2000).
Dix states that while censorship was never officially practiced throughout the 1990's, the piintmg of "any news unfavoiable to the Serbian legime was seen as criminal behavior" (p 163). News stones were closely examined, while ccnsoiship also took the foim of confiscation of Albanian language books, particularly from Rilindja and the National Library - many were pulped at a paper mill in Lipjan, a town just south of Prishtina (Dix, 2000). Book and penodical prices skyrocketed, placing them beyond the reach of most Albanians m Kosovo. The majority of Kosovo's Albanian population was unemployed throughout much of the 1990's, limiting the amount of discretionary income that could be spent on reading material.
However, funds from the Albanian Diaspora continued to provide some measure of assistance, and a lack of state support forced Kosovar Albanians to seek markets abroad and creative solutions to legal and financial difficulties (Dix, 2000). A mediascape to serve Kosovo's Albanian population required resilience and patience in the face of political, financial and at times physical obstacles. It required staff willing to risk detainment, mistreatment and sometimes imprisonment. Kosovo's Serbian administration used increasingly oppressive methods to obtain control over what Kosovars read, saw and heard. This forced newspapers to close down or to print abroad, television staff to work with two
15 hours of allotted programming space, and listeners of radio programs to tune in elsewhere. In the years immediately before and during the war, the Internet provided a creative solution to problems of censorship and high operating costs. The Internet piovided a medium which enabled greater speed and safety in its anonymity, though its use was limited in the 1999 conflict period.
The Legacy of Kosovo's Public Sphere
This chapter described the historical context in which Kosovo's media and public sphere developed. The Kosovo conflict was the result of a multiple number of factors: Yugoslavia's economic crisis, the increasing emancipation of Albanian Kosovars in Yugoslavia, the increasing dissatisfaction of Kosovar Albanians with Kosovo's political status, the disintegration of Communism across Eastern
Europe, the formation of the Democratic League of Kosovo, the waves of mass protests dunng the
1980's. and the eventual complete separation of Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo. The 1990's can be described as a political turning point, during which Kosovar Albanians formed and voted for a democratically elected party which ran a parallel government until NATO's intervention in 1999.
Kosovan journalist and public thinker Shkelzen Maliqi as well as Kosovan media scholar
Sahadete Limani provide a historical narrative of the press and issues of free speech and censorship m
Kosovo. Mahqi's Kosovar Monopoly of Information provides a comprehensive description of journalism practices and ideological restrictions enforced in Kosovo across three rough periods: the post-World War Two era, the 1970's, and the 1980's. The post-World War Two era is characterized by a highly censored and ideological approach to presenting and dealing with public issues, while the 1970's is characterized by increased access to Albanian literature and a re-acquaintance with Albanian culture and traditions. The protests of 1981 halt the process of Albanian and Kosovar cultural cooperation, and reinstate a condition of harsh ideological censorship of all media. The 1990's is described by Sahadete
16 Limani as a period in which Albanian-language media was pioduced and disseminated m illegal and semi-legal conditions, and with gieat peisonal risk to editois, writers and readers. The outbreak of war in 1999 maiks the fust usage of the Internet by Kosovar Albanians foi political ends, and served as a means to continue reporting events as they were unfolding on the ground - except to a global audience of Diaspora Albanians and Western observers.
Under these conditions, the public sphere in Kosovo can be described as tumultuous and highly censored at the worst of times and courageous and inventive at the best of times. Information was unreliable and cieated a situation in which the majority of Kosovars did not expect official news souices to provide unbiased and ideologically untainted news A bnef tiend of ciyptographic wilting was available only to the initiated and the politically awaie, and the bnef periods ol "liberalization" didn't get to the core of Kosovo's political and social problems The period of 1980's and the 1990's can be defined as a period of increasing uidicalization of political views in Kosovo, fueled by illegal and semi-legal Albanian publications which called for the return of Kosovo's autonomy, which announced its independence and documented human rights abuses at the hands of Serbian authorities. The deep political divisions of Kosovo solidified and unified Albanian Kosovars, and produced a public sphere which created, distributed and read newspapers that had a consistent political agenda. Whether through social realist discourse or through radicalized, semi-legal publications, Kosovo's public sphere was heavily politicized for most of the post-World War Two era - the period after 1999 would prove to be a period of rapid and sometimes difficult transition.
17 18 CHAPTER 3 Assessments of Kosovo's Mediascape
Since the establishment of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 1999, international NGOs and local oiganizations and media outlets have leshaped Kosovo's media landscape and have evaluated the nature of public discouise in the countiy Pnoi to 1999, Kosovo's Albanian media was heavily lestncted and semi legal, while public bioadcasteis and newspapeis sei ved as an ideological mouthpiece foi Yugoslavia and the government of Seibia The post-wai penod in Kosovo saw a boom in new newspapeis and the tiansfoimation of the state-owned TV Pushtina to the UN-cieated public bioadcastei Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) The international community's piesence in Kosovo instigated an abundance ol media tiammg piogiams, tundmg initiatives and pnvatization campaigns mostly earned out by the Oigamzation foi Seem it) and Coopeiation in Emope's (OSCE) Kosovo media blanch, foieign governmental aid oiganizations such as USAID, and nongovernmental oiganizations, with vaiying degiees of success Sm veys conducted by IREX Kosovo in the past ten yeais have shown that the majonty of Kosovais turn to television as then main souice of mfoimation, followed by radio programs and newspapers
The leseaich agency ARD was commissioned by USAID to complete a study of Kosovan media development from 1999 to 2004 in order to provide a strategy for USAID media development funding in Kosovo foi 2004 to 2008 USAID was the body responsible for most of Kosovo's media reconstruction, followed by the OSCE and other foreign governmental development agencies, such as those of Canada, Norway and Japan The report that ARD produced covered all media sectors and also took into account the necessities of training and developing human resomces, as opposed to merely infrastructure needs
19 By 2001, relatively large investments had been made in Kosovo's three national television stations. The media environment had achieved saturation, and increasingly smaller amounts of donor assistance had created a situation in which market-based consolidation was at its early stages. RTK
(formerly TV Prishtina), Kosovo's national public broadcaster began receiving subscription fees in
2004 - the same year it stopped receiving donor assistance from USAID. However, USAID and the
SOROS Foundation continued to fund Kosovo's two other national television stations, KTV and TV21.
This created debatable issues of fair play and competition between private and public (RTK) television stations (ARD, p. 16). ARD's research team concluded that Kosovo's market couldn't sustain three
Kosovo-wide television stations, and that advertising should not be allowed on RTK due to its privileged subscription status. The team of international nongovernmental organizations involved in rebuilding Kosovo's media infrastructure and personnel were divided between the "American" and
"European" camp - USAID argued for no advertising revenue for RTK, while European organizations argued for mixed funding and limited advertising (ARD, p.iii).
From the period of 2000 to 2004, media standards were part of the conditions Kosovo had to fulfill before discussion of its final status as per UNMIK's Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan. The range of and access to private media was evaluated positively by ARD, but more regulation and integration of minorities was required. A high reduction in media funding by USAID was foreseen, and a new strategy of assistance which emphasized timely and accessible information for all citizens was planned. The reduction in funding was described as a necessity, for USAID funding had the adverse effect of creating a feeling of entitlement among the three national stations, thereby creating a monopoly of stations with foreign funding. The reduction of donor funding was intended to stimulate private media to attract advertising and develop successful marketing and/or subscription campaigns.
20 During the post-war period the Organization for Stability and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was responsible for regulating and executing media legislation in Kosovo and established the
Temporary Media Commissioner in 2000 - an independent body with administrative support from the
OSCE. The Temporary Media Commissioner was the national body that licensed and regulated radio and television, and also monitored the conduct of and enforced sanctions on print media. In 2002, the
Temporary Media Commissioner was transformed into a permanent agency called the Independent
Media Commissioner which currently has three bodies - the Council that sets broadcast policy, the
Office of the Executive Director which implements broadcasting policy and the Media Appeals Board which receives appeals regarding violations of license conditions.
The Problem of Protocol Journalism
The 2004 ARD team's investigation of television and radio content in Kosovo repeated several statements about Kosovan media and public engagement that were agreed upon as common knowledge by observers at the time. The ARD report concluded that "protocol journalism" was a significant problem in Kosovo, along with media integration of minorities in the public sphere, political censorship and economic sustainability. Protocol journalism is defined as journalism which recycles information from press releases and press conferences - and provides no critical or analytical perspective on news events, and as a result, little to no public discussion. The report states: "The phenomenon of protocol journalism means that newspaper columns and radio/television news bulletins are dominated by politics and politicians (such as relations between UNMIK and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Governance or the status of the dialogue between Kosovo and Belgrade)" (p.5). Social issues are not covered and as common practice little to no context or explanation of events is provided. Professional standards have been criticized heavily in Kosovo, particularly referencing, citation and a lack of good vocational
21 training Two reasons are offered for this One is that most stations and newspapers cannot afford to hire specialized journalists focused on one field of interest, hence the staff available needs to be spread out over a variety of different subjects (ARD, Attachment 2). The othei is that Kosovo's legislation on free speech and the protection of journalists is not fully implemented, leaving little incentive for a station or newspaper to take the risk of publishing an investigative leport (ARD, 2004).
Minority Language Media
Minority language media was also an area of concern for the USAID assessment team, which stated that minority language media m Kosovo was "ghettoized, as ... [are] many of the readers and listeners they serve" (ARD, 2004, p.6). The majonty of Kosovo's television and radio programs aie in
Albanian , and most of the stones and events that get coverage aie lelevant to Kosovo's Albanian communities - not necessarily to Serb minorities The majonty of Kosovo's Serbian population lcceives its news from Seibia in the north - particularly in the northern municipality of Milrovica. At the time of the report, only smaller, local radio stations based in Serbian enclaves in the south addressed common concerns with Kosovo's mainstream media. RTK, Kosovo's national public broadcaster was required to dedicate a share of funding, air time and equipment towards minority language programming - the full quota of which had not been fulfilled at the time of the report (ARD,
2004, p.6). The assessment team did acknowledge that mmonty-language radio and television stations existed and operated relatively freely - but criticized the restrictions on the freedom of movement of
Serbian journalists. In interviews with ARD's assessment team RTK management stated that plans were in motion to lobby for a second RTK channel, which would specifically provide minority-language programming.
22 Kosovo's Journalistic Culture
In terms of discussion of the public sphere, it is interesting to note how the USAID team assessed the journalistic environment in Kosovo: "There is still a prevalent feeling that media are the mouthpiece of power, resulting in the phenomenon of protocol journalism...Media reports from the top down, not from the bottom up. Old attitudes prevail about the relationship between media and society/institutions. In general, people do not understand the concept of public media, and tend to confuse it with state-controlled media." (ARD, 2004, p.24). The team speculated that this was the case because of the country's Yugoslavian past which had acclimatized both journalists and the public to the domination of the state over the media. This is a key assumption that has followed writing about
Kosovo's media and public sphere in general. Another key assumption has been that international aid has created a situation in which the media environment in Kosovo has been deformed - creating a number of outlets with no clear profile and high staff turnover rates.
This situation is contrasted with the heavy dependence of Kosovo's national television stations on international donors. Private stations in particular were criticized for their lack of competitiveness, and international aid was cited as a "disincentive for recipients to improve their commercial viability"
(ARD, 2004, p.26). The report predicted a crash and/or suspension of funding of stations and programs that depended on international donations for their survival.
Quality of Content and Production
The production qualities of RTK, RTV21 and KTV are also placed under scrutiny for providing mediocre entertainment programming, while news programming is criticized for being too Prishtina- centred, lacking in proactive editorial policies and failing to provide a comprehensive, national level of coverage. The amount of programming purchased abroad has had a negative effect on Kosovo's
23 production industry. Commissions are sorely lacking for small production companies, and the few
Kosovan dramas and television series that are broadcast nationally have low production values.
At the present stage, a few daily newspapers in Kosovo have begun to think of creative solutions to their financial difficulties and Kosovo's over saturated media sector. The newspaper Koha
Ditore (The Daily Time) has an online website which allows online subscription, and also has agreements with publishing houses to sell Albanian bestsellers along with copies of the newspapers.
The daily newspaper Express has found a reliable corporate sponsor in the Slovenian telecommunications company, IPKO, and has launched a successful online version of the paper.
It is clear that at the time of the 2004-2008 strategy report, USAID/Kosovo was ready to move towards an exit phase in regards to media funding. At this point none of Kosovo's national television stations or daily newspapers receive donor funding. Nearly all of Kosovo's newspapers have online counterparts, and Kosovo's three national stations have slowly begun to "profile" themselves for specific audiences.
The Problem with the Literature
Literature on Kosovo's media discusses the possibility for rebuilding infrastructure, reforming legislation, formulating strategies for sustainability, providing education opportunities and mid-career training - with the unspoken assumption that if these criteria are met, a positive relationship between media and civil society will emerge. The majority of the existing literature has been produced by nongovernmental organizations and foreign governments who have aided in media infrastructure reconstruction - thus, the point of reference is invariably that of the foreigner, seeking to improve local conditions in a mid-term to long-term time frame. The existing relationship of Kosovo's civil society to the media is not examined at length, while local knowledge from Kosovar researchers and civil society
24 organizations is found in specific publications and online sources, it does not penetrate Western literature on Kosovo's media. The perspective of the "outsider looking in" has resulted in literature that is accessible only to specialized Western audiences and that does not translate to achievable policy.
Research such as ARD's, comprehensive as it may be, is concerned with the post-war reconstruction of infrastructure, raising journalistic standards and arriving at sustainability - the issue of digitalization and the utilization of the Internet is only addressed in passing as a possibility of the future. Recent statistics show that a growing number Kosovo's households have broadband Internet access, and all of
Kosovo's television and print news sources have an Internet presence that receive consistent traffic from both within and without Kosovo. News sites, blogs and discussion forums are only a fraction of the communication that occurs among Kosovars on the Internet. The Government of Kosovo and the majority of Kosovo's medium to large businesses are seeking to digitize their services and establish a visible, online presence. An examination of the online realm of communication could provide a fuller picture in regards to the state of the media in Kosovo.
If newspapers in Kosovo are under-read and politically influenced, and television stations over- funded and of low programming quality, what can be said about the use of the Internet as a tool of communication in Kosovo? Does the Internet allow for the introduction of a new public sphere in
Kosovo that could disrupt or reshape what can be considered more "traditional" forms of mass communication? What is Kosovo's existing public sphere, and how does it translate to the online realm?
25 CHAPTER 4 The Internet in Post-1999 Kosovo
In 1999, the United Nations Administiation in Kosovo was lesponsible fot the reconstiuction of telecommunications mfrastructuie destroyed dunng the war This included television netwoiks, ladio stations and telephone lines which enabled dial-up access to the Internet (typically via Serbia) In 2003 the fourth pillai of Kosovo's UN administration hbeiahzed the telecommunications maiket, opening it up to foreign and pnvate investment. IPKO, a denvative of Slovenian Telecom was the fust and cunently the only foieign internet sei vice piovider in the country, opening a bianch in Kosovo m
1999 IPKO's ma]oi local competitoi is Pnshtma-based company Kujtesa, Kosovo's oldest internet seivice piovidei, lounded in 1995 Both companies began tiansitionmg fiom dial up to bioadband at approximately the same time Both companies claim to be the first bioadband internet seivice provideis m Kosovo, while Kujtesa claims to be the fust company in Kosovo to install wneless internet access and wneless aiea netwoiks
In 2004, UNMIK in cooidination with Kosovo's Provisional Government' s Ministry of
Telecommunications created the Telecommunications Regulatory Association (TRA) Until Kosovo's declaration independence in 2008 the TRA worked in cooperation with UNMIK's Office for Frequency
Management. The TRA was given a mandate to ensure the application of telecommunications law in
Kosovo and is the license-granting body for telecommunications companies in the country. The TRA functions according to a mandate of fair competition and protection of consumers. The conditions for a successful license application include the speed and reach of the network, the prices offered by the provider, the quality and innovation of services offered, previous experience in telecommunications, the feasibility of the applicant's business plan, and the integration of local human resources.
26 The TRA works closely with the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, which is responsible for the development of legislation and allowances for the telecommunications and information technology sectois, monitoring sector success, ensuring that the national telecommunications sector is m line with European standards and to promote existing information technology. The earliest licenses granted by the TRA were given to DardaNet (a sector of PTK),
IPKONet and Kujtesa m 2005. The first three licenses were granted in order to legalize the status of the providers, which had already been up and running in Kosovo prior to receiving their licenses.
Issues Regarding Internet Regulation
Six years after its formation, three issues remain unaddressed by the TRA: the creation of conditions suitable for e-business, obtaining a country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) and the creation of policies that would allow for interfacing across international service providers. The lationale prior to 2008 was thai it was UNMIK's responsibility to create a legal frame for the above
(Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, 2006). After independence, it is not clear why no action has been undertaken by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication to initiate a dialogue with
ICANN regarding Kosovo's ccTLD status. Receiving an ICANN country code requires the fulfillment of two conditions: the publication of the location's name on the official ISO 3166 list, and the naming of a ccTLD manager that can operate according to ICANN regulations. In order to get on the ISO 3166 list, a country must be in either the UN Terminological Bulletin of Place Names or the Country and
Regional Code for Statistical Use of the UN Statistics Division. In order to be on the Bulletin of Place
Names, a country must be a UN member or a member of a UN special agency, or a signatory of the
International Court of Justice statute.
By 2008, Internet penetration in Kosovo reached 30% - with a combination of DSL (offered
27 only through DardaNet) and broadband use. From 2007 to 2008 the number of broadband connections lose from 9380 to 88773, while DSL rose from 3000 to 20,000 (Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority, 2008). By 2009, the number of DSL connections fell drastically due to the increased availability and cheap cost of broadband (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, 2010).
Despite improvements in the number of connections and the introduction of broadband technology, m 2010 the European Union Progress report for Kosovo stated that little institutional progress had been made in regards to electronic communications and information technologies, specifically due to Kosovo's lack of a country code top-level domain name and international calling code (European Commission, 2010, p.46). The progress report noted that the Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority did not have sufficient human resources, expertise or financial independence to lully regulate Kosovo's telecommunications market. In terms of information society services, the reported stated that new laws on personal data protection and cybercrime were positive developments, while e-government policies had yet to be implemented (European Commission, 2010).
From June-August 2010, four internet service providers provided the TRA with information about their services and consumers. The report revealed that 30% of Kosovo's families had internet access, while broadband penetration was at about 6.3% (roughly 65 000 users of broadband technology). In terms of market shares, IPKO led with 45% of the market, followed by DardaNet with
34% and Kujtesa with 19.6% of the market (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, 2010).
28 CHAPTER 4.1 Kosovo's Online Landscape: Case Studies
What follows is a comparative content analysis of three alternative, current affairs websites about Kosovo produced by Kosovars, four official institutional websites (two governmental, one of the official EU mission in Kosovo, as well as one sponsored by the Government of Kosovo as part of a national public relations campaign) and six online newspapers. The purpose of the following case studies is to examine the kind of discussion that occurs in Kosovo's online public sphere, and to assess whether they have the potential to become "counteipublics" in Drache's sense (Defiant Publics, 2008).
The three current affairs websites chosen are voluntary initiatives taken by young Kosovars at home and abroad, and are as follows: Kosovo Thanks You, New Kosova Report, and Kosovo 2.0. Each has a mission to promote Kosovo and provides a possible forum for Drache's counteipublics to congregate. Kosovo Thanks You is a website which tracks intemational recognitions for Kosovo, and also provides information about how visitors can exert pressure on their governments to recognize
Kosovo. New Kosova Report is the first English-language news portal about Kosovo. It has a considerable database of articles that include columns by intemational academic and legal experts, and spans articles from news, politics, culture, economy and business. It runs an entirely on a not-for-profit, volunteer basis. Kosovo 2.0 is, & blog and magazine written by and for young people in Kosovo, the
Balkans and further afield. The visit hits of each of these sites reach the thousands.
The quality and popularity of the privately administered and financed sites listed above is an opportunity for positive and relatively inexpensive public communication (as well as a public relations initiative between Kosovo and the world abroad, as all of the sites provide all of their content in
English). Institutional websites have been included to provide a counterweight to Kosovo's online media landscape. Where Kosovo's alternative, current affairs sites present the possibility of 29 counteipublics, Kosovo's official online presence serves as the discourse of political and Ibureaucratic power in Kosovo. They are as follows: the Ministry of Trade and Industry's website Visit Kosova, and the Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo's (IPAK) website. The websites of the EULEX mission and the Saatchi & Saatchi Young Europeans campaign are also included, although this is content determined by foreign companies contracted by the EU and Kosovo's government, respectively.
Kosovo's online newspapers are extensions of their print counterparts, and cover a wide range of political opinion. The bulk of the content includes reprints of the day's print articles, though what is interesting to observe is the way in which discussions unfold and are moderated on the sites - particularly those sites in which employ social media sharing options and commenting features. The frequency and nature of comments which appear on Kosovo's news sites speak to the perceived lack of interest in print newspapers m Kosovo (Index Kosova, 2008).
In Kosovo's official campaign to change the image of Kosovo through official public relations initiatives such as Kosovo: The Young Europeans, what has been not fully utilized are the voluntary attempts of Kosovars at home and abroad to present Kosovo to the online world. The main "narrative" of Kosovo in international public opinion remains the narrative of the NATO intervention and refugee explosion of 1999. In the online realm at least, that narrative is slowly being unraveled, by Kosovan produced content and Kosovan online interaction.
The content of the following websites were observed for the course of a week, from July 15-
July 23, 2010: Kosovo Thanks You, New Kosova Report, Kosovo 2.0, the Government of Kosovo's e- portal, the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Visit Kosova, the Investment Promotion Agency of Kosova,
EULEX's official website and the website of the Kosovo, the Young Europeans campaign . They were followed up by interviews with staff from Kosovo Thanks You, New Kosova Report, Kosovo 2.0, the
30 Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Tourism and the Investment Promotion Agency of
Kosovo. The content of the following news websites were observed from October 22-October 25,
2009: Gazeta Express, Koha Ditore, Lajm, Zeri, Kosova Sot, and Infopress. Due to the limited scope of this study, interviews with staff members from Kosovo's six dailies were not feasible.
Case Study # 1 Kosovo Thanks You
Table 1. Kosovo Thanks You Profile
URL http://www.kosovothanksyou.com Description A site that documents the dates and names of countries that have recognized Kosovo. It has a "Wall of Independence" where people can write in their letters of support for Kosovo's independence, as well as information about Kosovo's international relations and passport protocol.
Interactivity Interactivity is limited to writing to the Wall of Independence, submitting a photo to the independence feed on the site's Flickr page, and commenting on Kosovo Thanks You videos on their YouTube page. Comments can also be made on the site's news articles and readers can subscribe to Kosovo Thanks You updates.
Aim of site To record and promote the further recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, by providing lists of countries that have recognized Kosovo, thanking those countries for their recognitions, providing information about international organizations and offices in Kosovo, as well as
31 advice for readers on how to pressure their governments to recognize Kosovo.
Creators Gene Kastrati and Betim Deva, two Kosovar web developers in Switzerland, create and maintain all of the content and visuals on the site.
Target Audience Foreign readers and Albanians at home and abroad that want to know about the number of countries that have recognized Kosovo, as well as statistics and information about past and current recognitions.
Layout The home page dominated by a world map and , lists of countries that have recognized Kosovo to 'date. The layout involves lots of charts, graphs and1 maps - as well as a section dedicated to the national symbols of Kosovo.
1 Type of content Statistics, lists and news articles every time a country recognizes Kosovo, a Wall of Independence where readers can write messages of support, text articles about how to assist in getting more recognitions for Kosovo, a list of foreign offices and embassies in Kosovo, as well as a few audio clips of Kosovo's national anthem.
Links to other sites Kosovo Thanks You provides links to sites which promote causes they support, such as the Flying for Kosovo Campaign, as well as the governmental sites of Kosovo.
The creators of the website pay for its Funding 32 maintenance.
Frequency of updates The site is updated every time a new country recognizes Kosovo.
Citation practices Kosovo Thanks You is careful in its citation practices, and sources all external information found on its site, such as official statements regarding future and past recognitions, information regarding travelling with Kosovan passports and news regarding upcoming
recognitions.
User comments The Wall of Independence allows visitors to the site to comment and offer messages of support for Kosovo's independence. The messages are sent via email to the administrators, who moderate among the messages and decide which ones will be published on the Wall. The majority of the respondents are from the United States, China, Canada, EU countries and countries from the Balkans (including Serbia). 33% of all respondents from the Balkans are Serbs (mostly from Vojvodina, Novi Sad and Belgrade), followed by 23% from Croatia. The other Balkan supporters included Slovenians, Bosnians and Bulgarians. From a total of 117 letters of support, 10% were from the United States, 11% were from China and 8% were from Canada.
Sentiment Analysis A certain number of the respondents revealed their personal experiences in Kosovo, the feelings of
33 solidarity they felt with the Kosovar cause, and respondents who were from countries that had not recognized the independence of Kosovo expressed a desire for their countries to recognize Kosovo as soon as possible. The site doesn't aim to convince or influence anyone about Kosovo's independence, for the issue of independence and recognition is discussed as an inevitability. There is no section for states that have not recognized Kosovo - they are instead referred to and listed as states that will recognize Kosovo. The site is therefore aimed at those who support the independence of Kosovo.
Interview Summary
Gene Kastrati2, one of the co-creators of the site stated that the reason for creating the site was to keep track of recognitions and thank states for their recognitions, but also to increase Kosovo's profile online by providing a new, positive face to the country. A few weeks before the declaration of independence in 2008, Gene Kastrati and Betim Deva pooled their knowledge and resources together to create Kosova Thanks You. All of the work on the site has been done on a voluntary basis and has never been affiliated to the Government of Kosovo. The cost of the site's maintenance has been taken on by Kastrati and Deva, and there are no plans for seeking out donor funding or creating space for advertising.
According to Kastrati, the daily visitor count has reached the thousands since 2008 and the site
Kastrati, G. (2010, August 9). Email interview. 34 has become a reference in foreign books and affiliated sites for recognitions of Kosovo. The site's internal verification process ensures that the list is accurate and carefully maintained, thus avoiding what Kastrati calls "mistakes commonly made by Kosovar media - such as stating that a country has recognized Kosovo before it has done so officially."
35 Case Study # 2 Kosovo Two Point Zero
Table 2. Kosovo Two Point Zero
URL www.kosovotwopointzero.com Description Kosovo 2.0 is a collective blog and online magazine about current affairs, culture and society in Kosovo and the Balkans.
Interactivity Individuals can request blogs of their own by directly contacting the site administrators. Interactivity is limited to commenting to blogs and articles, or emailing the administrators at the site's generic email addresses.
Aim of site 'To provide an inside look into the lives and thoughts of young Kosovars in a way that is accessible, informative and engaging.
Creators The creators of the site are Kosovar journalist and editor Besa Luci and Joan de Boer, a Dutch ICT developer. The bloggers, are, for the most part, young professional Kosovars with a background in journalism or the creative arts. Other bloggers also include Diaspora Kosovars, and individuals from the Balkans and further afield who have a professional or personal connection to Kosovo.
Target Audience The format and the content appear to be aimed at a younger, hipper audience of Kosovars - those who may or may not care about the political situation in Kosovo as much as who lives there and what their day-to-day experiences are. The blog is
36 multilingual, written in English, Albanian and Serbian, which signals an attempt to attract not only an Kosovar Albanian audience, but a Western and Serbian one as well.
Layout The layout is visually based - meaning the site for the most part is navigated through by clicking on icons or images. There is an effective balance of white space and imagery that gives the site a feeling of navigability and "browsing" ease.
Type of content The majority of the content is made up of blog postings by Kosovo 2.0 bloggers, although there are also weekly magazine articles, a music playlist feature, a current events page, and an expanding video library consisting of Tung Kosovo videos, as well as local and international short films and documentaries.
Links to other sites The site provides links to Kosovo 2.0'% Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts.
Funding The Kosovar Institute of Journalism and Communication (KIJAC) have provided part of the initial funding for the site since its creation. As of yet there appears to be no space for advertising.
Frequency of updates The site is updated with new blog postings and material relatively regularly, with one blog per day and one magazine article per month.
Citation practices The majority of commentators have Albanian usemames or nationality-neutral names, and for
37 the most part write in English. Nearly each blog has at least a minimum of one to two comments. Sub-communities of regular commentators and bloggers have developed, characterized by dialogue between bloggers and readers.
User comments The majority of commentators have Albanian usemames or nationality-neutral names, and for the most part write in English. The site attracts a following of regular commentators, who enter into dialogue with the bloggers and other commentators.
Sentiment Analysis A community of regular commentators serve as a pseudo "jury" for the site, praising well-written blogs and critiquing unpopular posts. An atmosphere of dialogue is in place, where most bloggers regularly respond to comments on their posts. Popular topics include the experience of being young in the Balkans and social issues tied to local politics and the EU.
Interview Summary
Besa LuciJ, one of the original creators of the site and Kosovo 2.0's editor-in-chief, stated that the motivation for creating Kosovo 2.0 was to put Kosovo on the global map through the internet. Luci states: "The idea was to create a communication platform in Kosovo that would encourage storytelling, and through their stories the youth of Kosovo would share and comment on their thoughts and experiences about issues that preoccupy or interest them. The target audience is the youth of Kosovo,
Luci, B. (2010, August 16). Email interview. 38 between the ages of 18 and 35, as well youth of the same age across the world. The idea is for young people from other countries to learn about Kosovar youth through the stories and content of Kosovo
2.0, and to be used as a networking tool."
The importance of a website like Kosovo 2.0, according to Luci, lies in its storytelling function:
"This is because storytelling allows the writer to either place themselves in the text or the experience of someone else who experiences a certain issue or phenomenon. This makes the text not only more accessible to readers in general, but it also turns the topic into something that is easier to relate to.
There is a lack of writing like this particularly in Kosovo, and as a technique it allows the audience of
Kosovo to get involved in a different discussion for issues that might preoccupy all of them in a daily basis for years, whereas for a foieign audience it allows them to get lo know Kosovo's youth and their thoughts."
39 Case Study # 3 New Kosova Report
Table 3. New Kosova Report Profile
URL www.newkosovareport.com Description New Kosova Report is a registered non governmental organization which publishes the electronic news site New Kosova Report. Established in 2008, it is the first online news site written by Kosovars about Kosovo in English, with a mixed team of both local and intemational contributors.
Interactivity New Kosova Report allows readers to register as site members, which enables one to submit articles 1 and news links to the site, as well as track their comments. A visitor can register for New Kosova Report's newsletter, and submit articles, news links and comments anonymously if they don't wish to register.
Aim of site The site's mandate is to become a location for information in English on Kosovo's political, cultural and economic developments in the form of news articles and analysis/opinion pieces.
Creators The site creators are Arianit Dobroshi and Gent Prokshi.
Target Audience The site appears to be geared towards a foreign audience - its articles are written entirely in English, and articles tend to provide back story regarding Kosovo. It also appears to challenge
40 skeptics and attract supporters of Kosovo's independence by using the Albanian nomer "Kosova" as opposed to "Kosovo".
Layout New Kosova Report's layout is that of a traditional news site, with headlines, advertisements, regular columnists and contributors and the following sections: columns, politics, views and analysis, business and economy, culture and sports, society and religion.
Type of content The site content is overwhelmingly made up of text articles with accompanying photos. Advertisements for associated or appropriate organizations and sites can be found on the site's home page. The regular columnists are for the most part foreign experts with Kosovan experience. Video and audio are not embedded directly onto the site, but videos are available through New Kosova Report's YouTube channel.
Links to other sites New Kosova Report links to Government of Kosovo sites, as well as to the website of the International Civilian Office, EULEX and the Kosovo Trust Agency. They also provide links to their partner sites and organizations, which include the Foreign Policy Club, The Kosovo Times, Kosovo Thanks You, and telegrafi.com.
Funding All contributions to the site are voluntary. The material is provided by Kosovars with an
41 academic or professional background in political science, social issues and economics, and Westerners with professional, on-the-ground experience in Kosovo. Its administrative staff consists of two young Kosovars abroad, one in America responsible for the editorial content and the other in Sweden responsible for the site architecture and maintenance. As a non governmental organization, New Kosova Report only generates income through charitable donations and advertising, with a preference for regional or Kosovan advertisements. New Kosova Report is currently licensed under a Creative Commons Attributions license, which means that the content of the site can be used and reproduced with attribution. It is dependent on the creators' investment, advertisements and reader donations.
Frequency of updates I The highest rate of updates occurred between
z^uu2008o aiianud iuiu2010.. Thniet antsite; liahas laggeiciggi^du in termiciins oufi frequency of posts and contributions, and short- staffing has resulted in a lack of new content since February 2011.
Citation practices All of the site's articles are dated and archived as far back as the site launch in 2007. All information in articles is cited and hyperlinked, even where a clear editorial bias (i.e. in columns and opinion pieces) is evident. For the most part, explosive, prejudiced or one-sided reports or language are
42 not a feature of the site. The diversity of material and topics provides richness and a contextual understanding of Kosovo from several points of view and reference points for those unfamiliar with the region and its history.
User comments In an analysis of the most frequently commented articles on New Kosova Report across all sections, the majority of commentators appear to be English-speaking Albanian Kosovars, followed by Serbs and readers of other Balkan nationalities, followed by English-speaking foreigners. The ratio to Albanian to Serbian commentators m the majority of articles across sections is 2:1 or 3:1.
Sentiment Analysis Not surprisingly, English-speaking Albanian Kosovars supported the independence of Kosovo in nearly all cases and were the first to respond to comments which were skeptical or dismissive of Kosovo's right to independence. The comments of English-speaking Albanian Kosovars emphasized Kosovo's ability and right to govern itself, as well as Serbia's lack of legal and moral authority to govern Kosovo. Many comments by Albanian Kosovars also thanked states which recognized the independence of Kosovo, and expressed a desire for entry into the European Union and NATO. English-speaking Serbian commentators for the most part did not support the independence of Kosovo or considered it a lost or "occupied"
43 region. These comments emphasized that Kosovo could not become an independent country due to Resolution 1244 and the norms of international law. Other comments criticized the criminal nature of Kosovo's government and the mistreatment of Serbians in Kosovo. Western and Balkan commentators varied between in support of/wary of Kosovo's independence. Western commentators for the most part were divided between those who believed the war of 1998-1999 was a bloody war in which both sides took lives and committed crimes, and those that believed that Serbian oppression and aggression caused the violence in Kosovo. Balkan commentators had a more nuanced understanding of the conflict, and for the most part were in support of (if careful of) Kosovo's independence.
Interview Summary
According to Arianit Dobroshi4, one of the creators of the site: "There was a need for us to counteract Serbian propaganda broadcast through sites such as b92.net/eng, media reports financed from Western governments which focused on the dark and dysfunctional parts of our society, and at the same time to present a different local perspective in comparison to what had existed before." The New
Kosova Report site was created due to the lack of informative websites written from a Kosovar perspective.
The maintenance and content of the site is completed on an entirely voluntary basis. There is a
Dobroshi, A. (2010, August 11). Email interview. 44 regular staff of one webmaster, one journalist and one editor, as well occasional commentators and journalists. Some of the content is borrowed from local media, while some is borrowed from non-
English speaking media i.e. Spanish, German, French, and some Balkan languages. At the time of this
interview New Kosova Report received 4000 unique visitors per day, and has been referenced by
foreign publications such as the Economist and the New York times, foreign ministries and diplomatic employees. In terms of obstacles faced, Dobroshi states that the governmental institutions of Kosovo have totally ignored the site, and have refused to work with them or acknowledge their importance.
States Dobroshi: "If a small amount of the 6 million euros granted to the Young Kosovo campaign were to be set aside for other original web projects, i.e. creating a number of pro-Kosova sites in different global languages such as English, French, Spanish, French, the number of international recognitions and investment in Kosovo would undoubtedly rise."
Analysis of Kosovan Alternative Websites
In terms of offering support for private initiatives, it is preferable that there be as little government interference on site content as possible. However, supplying grants through the Ministry of
Culture through the Academy of Arts and Sciences to reduce the costs of website maintenance and to provide space for growth could be an effective way of providing support without appearing to exert undue influence on content. Transforming certain functions of the Academy of Arts and Sciences to provide a space for the support and promotion of such sites would be an innovative and effective way of both presenting the best minds to the widest audience, but also a way to widen the sphere of public discourse both within and outside of Kosovo. Initiatives such as Kosovo 2.0, Kosova Thanks You and
New Kosova Report should be within the means and abilities of every Kosovar who has the skill and the talent to do something similar. The creation of a Council within the structure of the Academy of
45 Aits and Sciences, which would deal with the piomotion and support of artistic, hteiaiy, journalistic and visual initiatives, could cieate a situation in which public lelations no longei has to take on the lole of public lelations as such - but as a minoi of the best of what Kosovo has to offei
An awaid which would offei the appiopnate support foi pnvate digital initiatives would lesemble the Canadian government s Department of Hentage Canada Interactive Fund3 - a funding package intended to piovide support foi the enhancement of Canadian "digital cultural content", in short, money foi websites fiom Canadian not foi piofit oiganizations with Canadian content In the case of Kosovo, this could be expanded an modified to include sites which simply piovide mfoimation about Kosovo thiough a Web 2 0 foi mat, as well as any othei specifications The awaid could be cicated thiough a special committee of independent experts fiom the aits and the mfoimation technology commumt), undei the umbiella of the Academy of Aits and Sciences 01 a similai institution It would be awaided thiough an application piocess lequning an application, a budget bieakdown and a list of alternative souices of funding A "Kosovo Intel active Fund" could be an annual competition for funding fiom individuals with ideas for creating online content about Kosovo and a lack of funds The fund would be profitable from a public lelations and from a cultural point of view, and would require a set of standards to ensure that all sites funded would be accessible to all Kosovars, visible to search engines, viable m the long term, and transferable to newer versions of browsers and devices as they become available This should also be beneficial in terms of keeping costs low for future maintenance
A clear communications strategy that incorporates the online realm is a cost-effective, fast and efficient way of presenting information about Kosovo to the world and to encourage Internet use in the
1 Canada Interactive Fund http //www pch gc ca/eng/1273769820147 46 best way possible Websites that are created on the basis of private initiatives allow the world to see a different face of Kosovo - young, intelligent and excited about the futuie They provide not only information, but a window into Kosovo as it is expenenced by Kosovais, in clear fluent English. The level of site visits per day leceived by Kosovo Thanks You, New Kosova Report and Kosovo 2.0 - in the thousands - suggests that individuals want to be informed and are interested to know more. A fund of some kind which would capitalize on this interest and ensme that these sites remain live - they are not money-making initiatives, and as such requne special treatment.
47 Case Study # 4 Visit Kosova
Table 4. Visit Kosova Profile
URL http://www.visitkosova.org/
Description A government sponsored website created in order to promote tourism in Kosovo - Visit Kosova is the official website of the Department of Tourism in the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
'Interactivity Is limited to sending an email through the "contact" section of the site.
Aim of site Visit Kosova aims to provide basic information i such as a list of tourist destinations, regular I [cultural events, advice on accommodation, important contact information, and travelling tips. Creators The Kosovo-based company Refresh is contracted to handle site maintenance, while the content is j created by marketing staff from the Department of Tourism.
Target Audience The target audience are intemational, English- speaking tourists who are considering or who have already decided to visit Kosovo.
Layout The layout has a visually appealing central banner with Visit Kosova's logo, and a banner image which fades in and out with images of tourist locations in Kosovo. The body of the site contains three columns of links and images, as well as a menu located above the banner of the page.
48 Type of content The content consists of short text articles, a 24 minute long RTK documentary about the "seven beauties" of Kosovo, and a photo gallei y of Kosovo's top tourist destinations.
Links to other sites The site provides links to Kosovo's Government Portal, Prishtina Intemational Airport, the Kosova Tourism Association, as well as a list of links to various hotels and travel agencies in Kosovo.
Funding Allocated thiough the Ministry of Industry and Trade through the Central Budget of Kosovo
Frequency of updates It is unclear how recently the site is refreshed with information regarding new events and places to visit in Kosovo, as articles and multimedia content aie not archived or dated
Citation practices The site has serious issues with citation, authenticity, as well as ease of navigation
User comments Cannot be evaluated from the site.
Sentiment Analysis i Cannot be evaluated from the site.
Additional Notes
It is not clear whether the Visit Kosova Facebook page is associated with the official Visit Kosova website - the official page and the Facebook page do not link to one another. The Facebook page, which has the same mandate as the official Visit Kosova page has approximately 25,000 fans.
Interview Summary
49 When asked about the mandate of the site, Mai11 Bajiami6, the Director of Marketing for Tourism at
Kosovo's Ministiy of Trade and Industry stated that the aim of the site was for Kosovo to hold a mirror of itself to the woild, and was created in a time when Kosovo was still advertised as a Serbian tourist destination. The site does not have a particular target audience and for the moment there are no plans to translate the site into other languages apart from English, Albanian And Serbian. The content of the site is created by 3-4 employees from the Department of Tourism, while the maintenance is done by a
Kosovar company, Refiesh.
At the time of this study the Department of Tourism does not have statistics on how many visitois per day Visit Kosova receives, 01 where visitors are coming from. The biggest obstacles m teims of impioving the site have to do with the buieaucracy withm the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which slows down the process of refreshing the site's content A junior staff member from the
Marketing Division of the Department of Tourism also slated that the amount of work and simple negligence also played a role in the site's quality. However, Bajrami stated that while the site needs work, it is an achievement that it exists.
Bajrami, H (2010, August 10) Personal Interview 50 Case Study # 5 Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo
Table 5. Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo Profile
I URL http://www.invest-ks.org/
Description IPAK stands for the Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo. Their website provides vital information to potential foreign investors on why they should invest in Kosovo, how to do business in Kosovo, and how the Agency can facilitate the process of conducting business in the country.
Interactivity The "Contact Us" section of the site provides the telephone number, mailing address and fax number of the Agency in Prishtina. The site also allows a visitor interested in investing in Kosovo an opportunity to fill out an online inquiry form. The form requires the visitor to list his or her contact information, position, company information, location and query. An application titled the Investment Location Database allows visitors to view profiles and mapped locations of investment opportunities.
Aim of site The aim of the site is to provide a portrait of Kosovo as a viable place for investments - describes Kosovo's economy and quality of life, provides a list of reasons to invest in Kosovo and offers both instructions and suggestions for setting up a business in Kosovo. The aim of the site and the agency is to facilitate communication and
51 easing access between interested foreign investors, the Government of Kosovo and the Kosovo market.
Creators A company named Metro Consulting was contracted to create the site and provide maintenance, while the content is created by 3-4 IPAK staff members. l Target Audience The target audience for IPAK's website are foreign, English-speaking businesses considering investing or starting up a business in Kosovo. According to the "About Us" section of the site, the Austrian Development Agency has been doing its part to open up Kosovo to investment from German-speaking countries of Europe (Germany, Switzerland, and Austria).
Layout The layout involves a central banner, with a "slideshow" of images that also list why Kosovo is a safe and viable place to invest. It provides a sidebar of the latest news regarding foreign investment in Kosovo, as well as a calendar of events held by Kosovo's business community. The home menu of the site contains a concise case study of Kosovo, a list of reasons why there are solid business opportunities in the country, as well as detailed information for investors interested in starting up a business in Kosovo i.e. Utility costs, the demographics of the labour market, the business registration process and legislation
52 regarding taxes and business protection.
Type of content The site contains mostly text-based articles, but also a list of downloadable publications and a short spot about investing in Kosovo. The video clip posted emphasizes Kosovo's low corporate taxes, low personal taxes, lowest mandatory social contribution and lowest monthly labour costs. The IPAK video highlights the best of Kosovo, and ends with the Young Kosovo campaign spot. It begins with a short speech by Fatmir Sejdiu, standing beside a flag of Kosovo, a small statue of Mother Theresa and in front of a portrait of Ibrahim Rugova . The rest of the clip is dubbed over in English and presents the legal, financial, demographic and infrastructural reasons for investing in Kosovo. It is concise, easy to follow and informative - and presents an image of Kosovo that does not emphasize Kosovo's unemployment or lack of development. It achieves this in the span of a 7 minute clip.
Links to other sites Links are provided to the governmental institutions of Kosovo, such as various ministries and economic/business bodies such as the Kosovo Business Registration Agency, as well as banks and international institutions in Kosovo.
Funding Funding for the site is provided by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Frequency of updates Approximately monthly, in the form of press
53 releases and news articles when projects with foreign investors are undertaken, and when IPAK events are held.
Citation practices In place when print newspapers are used to provide content for "News" section of site.
User comments There is no commenting functionality on the site.
Sentiment Analysis Cannot be evaluated from the site.
Interview Summary
Dardan Nallbani7, IPAK's Senior Investment Promotion Officer stated that the mandate of the site was threefold - promotion, information and ease of access. The vision for the site involved a one- stop location for foreign investors interested in investing m Kosovo and Kosovar businessmen abroad.
The aim of the site was to provide information and "sell" the idea of doing business in Kosovo. At the time of this study the Ministry provides the funding for the site, while the maintenance is taken care of by a Kosovar company called Metro Consulting Group. IPAK does not have statistics on the number of visitors which the site receives per day, but they do receive approximately five inquiries per day through the site's query application form.
By the end of 2010, IPAK aims to have created a new client database which will be able to automatically register visitors to the site and forward them information regarding the business sectors, they express an interest in. In the future the site will also be translated into German and Italian, apart from English, Albanian and Serbian. One of the obstacles IPAK faces at the moment is the lack of staff for creating new content (i.e. news and articles) for their site. However, they do express satisfaction with the design and consistency of queries generated by the site.
7 Nallbani,D. (2010, August 7). Personal Interview. 54 Analysis of Institutional Websites
Institutional websites serve the function of pioviding Kosovo with an official online "profile" - they serve as the backdiop or context m which alternative sites of discouises take place. The case studies above play then part in creating communities and shaping Kosovo's public image. An online presence for Kosovo's institutions and governmental agencies performs two functions:
I. Institutions and governmental agencies are able to relate information to the public without using traditional media as an intermediary. Good online public relations can also contribute to civil society by placing more information in the hands of journalists, ci eating a better informed citizenry and contributing to the free flow of information as a result. As a two-way information tool, interactive websites can piovide high levels of content as well as put a human face to organizations (particulaily through the use of social networking sites or blogs). This creates a less mediated relationship between the public and the oiganization and establishes a relatively moie human relationship between the site visitor and the organization/website.
II. A well-organized, informative website is more efficient and cost-effective in terms of cutting down the amount of time front-line public service staff spend answering routine questions. Kosovo's
Ministry of Public Administration 2009-2015 Strategy for E-governance aims to digitize a broad spectrum of governmental services and to equip every Kosovar citizen with an online identity card.
Standards of content and architecture are not consistently applied across the above case studies, and are expected to be streamlined as per the Administrative Instruction For Strengthening Transparency and
Standardization of Internet Websites in the Institutions of the Republic of Kosovo (Administrative
Instruction BR 07/2008 MJS).
The Administrative Instruction BR. 07/2008 MJS can be expanded upon in order to create a
55 government-wide style guide, to be distributed to all IT teams at the federal and local level. In oider to become a factor in the creation of online publics and the development of civil society in this sense, web publishing regulations need to be applied to all governmental bodies and cover a range of issues: e- govemment policy, how to incorporate Web 2.0 elements in governmental sites, regulation on how to plan a website and the kind of content that should be found in them. Resources also need to be provided for evaluating the accessibility and technical development of sites that are already up and functioning in order to address issues of visual design, branding, freedom of information and intellectual property regulations. Kosovo's Division of E-Govemance in the Ministry of Public Administration, which already deals with the monitoring and setting of standards for governmental websites, would be the natural oigan lesponsible for the creation of an official governmental style guide.
56 Case Study # 6 Kosovo, the Young Europeans
Table 6. Kosovo, the Young Europeans Profile
URL http://www.kosovo-young.com/
Description The website of Kosovo, the Young Europeans, is part of a broader, long term marketing campaign for the image of Kosovo. It was commissioned by the Govemment of Kosovo to change the image of i • the country to the rest of the world as a war-torn Balkan region. Interactivity Interactivity is limited to sending an email directly to the campaign through the website, or joining the campaign's Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages, which have a commenting functionality.
Aim of site The aim of the site is to improve the image of Kosovo by emphasizing the potential of its youth - which is meant to serve as a metaphor for the new beginning of the country as an independent state.
Creators Saatchi & Saatchi won the tender for the campaign, an international marketing company based in New York and Tel Aviv.
Target Audience The target audience are foreigners who have little or no knowledge of Kosovo, or who still envision Kosovo as an unsafe, dangerous part of former Yugoslavia.
Layout There is no header or "main menu" - the logo of
57 Young Kosovo makes up the home page, and links at various points to a five links - which lead to the Young Kosovo profiles, the initial Young Kosovo campaign spot, a short blurb on Kosovo, a few downloadable images and a "contact us" feature.
Type of content The content includes images, text and video. Text articles include a brief blurb that provides information on how young Kosovo's population is. The "Meet the Young Europeans" page includes eight profiles of representative young Kosovars, which are composed of images accompanied with brief biographical information and a video profile. Downloads include Young European logos as well as music from The Young Europeans clip.
Links to other sites The site links to the official portal of the Govemment of Kosovo, the Economic Initiative for Kosovo, the Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo, the Privatization Agency of Kosovo, the Dokufest film festival, the Skena Up festival, the Prifilm Fest, Jazz Festival Prishtina, Kosovo Thanks You, and START Vienna.
Funding The funding would come from Saatchi and Saatchi through the Government of Kosovo, which decided to invest 5.7 million euros in the project in 2008.
Frequency of updates It is not clear how often the Young Kosovo site is updated. The campaign's official Facebook group is outdated and not updated with current campaign
58 information. The campaign's Twitter account has 433 followers and 162 tweets, but has not been updated since Hillary Clinton's visit to Kosovo in November 2010. the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages are updated relatively recently - on a daily and/or weekly basis.
Citation practices There is very little information to be cited and verified. The campaign thus far has only introduced Kosovo at the level of image appeal and through the angle of "young Kosovars".
User comments There is no commenting functionality available on the official Young Kosovo site. There are two Young Kosovo Facebook pages, so it is unclear which one is affiliated with the Saatchi and Saatchi campaign. A brief survey of the Young Kosovars Facebook page though reveals a fan base of approximately 35,000 for one and 70,000 for the other. The Young Kosovo campaign YouTube page has approximately 454 subscribers, with a total of approximately 251,000 views of uploaded content.
Sentiment Analysis The comments for the most part are from Albanians and foreigners congratulating Kosovo on her independence, as well as the occasional Serb commentator who emphasizes that Kosovo is still a province of Serbia.
59 Additional Notes
Two diffeient sets of icactions weie set into motion by the Saatchi and Saatchi Young Emopean
o campaign In a public speech at the launch of the campaign Pnme Mimstei Hashim Thaci stated that the spot and the "young" mandate of the campaign was an effective countei image to the oveindmg image that foieign audiences have foi Kosovo This camp sees it as a simple PR campaign to encourage investment, integration and general knowledge about Kosovo, as well as to piomote an image which emphasizes hope, vitality, a new beginning, and the Europeanness and Western onentation of Kosovo
The camp910 "that cnticized the campaign state that Kosovo as it is in leahty is m teims of its histoncal and political context not lepiesented in the Young Euiopeans spot The influence and artistic vision of the site is cntnely foieign, with no local decision making involved The use of the name Kosovo instead of Kosova was also seen as pioblematic as well as the lack of substantial mloimation about
Kosovo in the bioadei campaign This cntique is based on the assumption that the campaign piesents a
Kosovo that doesn't exist, and the positive images aie not enough foi what they soiely need to do - piesent Kosovo as an attractive place to business 01 to visit as a tounst
Press Release (October 26, 2010 ) Lansohet fushata per pjomovimin e Kosoves InTelegrafi Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http //www telegrafi com/?id=2&a=6051 9 Haradmaj, M (November 2, 2010) Big Brother Po Na Shikon' In Telegrafi Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http //www telegrafi com/7id=26&a=2999&dergo=l 10 Phillips, B (October 29, 2009) Branding Kosovo The Young Europeans In Al Jazeera Retrieved December 3, 2010, fiom http //blogs aljazeera net/euiope/2009/10/29/bianding kosovo young-europeans 11 Collaku, P (October 21, 2010) Kosovo the Unemployed Young Euiopeans In Balkan Insight Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http //www balkamnsight com/en/article/the unemployed young europeansl 60 Case Study # 7 EULEX Mission in Kosovo
Table 7. EULEX Profile
T URL www.eulex-kosovo.eu
Description A website about the EU mission in Kosovo, which
inform visitors to the site as to what EULEX is,
what its mandate is, and a public archive of
EULEX projects, literature, strategies, and
successes.
Interactivity Interactivity is limited to writing to the EULEX
mission in the section of the site titled "Right lo
Write", where one can send their opinions and
questions regarding EULEX to the mission. It is
unclear where these messages get sent or how a
response is given.
Aim of site To inform Kosovo's citizens and those interested
abroad in the strategy and progress of the EULEX
mission.
Creators The EULEX web maintenance team.
Target Audience Kosovars and those abroad interested in finding
information about the policies and initiatives of
61 the EU mission in Kosovo.
Layout The central part of the page is dominated by
EULEX news articles and has a little blitz feature
of rolling headlines. The top menu includes the
home, press office, and all the fields in which
EULEX is active - police, justice and customs -
jas well as a list of public tenders and job
opportunities.
Type of content Text and images m the photo gallery section of the
i site. The content involves a description of each of
the fields of public life in which the EULEX
mission is involved, press releases of EULEX
initiatives and current events in Kosovo and pdf
links to EULEX reports regarding the mission's
status and future strategies.
Links to other sites No links are provided to associated sites.
Funding Funding for the site is provided by the EULEX
Mission in Kosovo.
Frequency of updates The news section of the site is dated and updated
regularly, as well as the monthly progress reports
62 that are placed on the site in downloadable pdf
form.
Citation practices All of the information on the site has verification
in the form of regular EULEX reports,
downloadable in pdf form.
User comments The official EULEX doesn't have a commenting
functionality, and comments are disabled on
EULEX's YouTube channel as well.
Sentiment Analysis Cannot be completed on the basis of the site alone.
Additional Notes
The site provides a wealth of information m terms of regular reports on each of the pillars of the
EU mission, however the news articles tend to lean more towards EULEX-promotion in its tone and subject matter. Interactivity on the site is limited to sending an email to EULEX's generic email for enquiries and much of the experience of the site involves reading text, which cannot be shared through social media or commented on. The majority of downloadable material consists of large pdf files contain reports of little to no interest to a layperson seeking basic information in regards to corruption, arrests, customs and law - while the news articles are for the most part short press releases, not journalistic pieces. There is a general lack of human presence on the site, perhaps because the public outreach campaign section of the site has no content.
The EULEX site's YouTube page provides a more cohesive PR message - the videos are spots
63 shown on Kosovo's television broadcasters, as well as short recordings of EULEX staff visiting high schools and attending meetings across Kosovo. None of these clips have a working comment function, and the uploaded views at the time of this study was 4,034 after two years of activity.
In response to the environment of a politicized press and public, the EU mission in Kosovo - EULEX has a Press Office which organizes Public Outreach Campaigns to educate ordinary Kosovars about the importance and value of the EU's presence. The campaigns take the form of billboard ads and television spots that explain the legal reform goals of the mission. The EULEX television spots and
YouTube clips provide interviews with EULEX staff, footage of EULEX visits to public schools and
Serbian enclaves, or brief summaries of EULEX accomplishments. The television ads are no more than twenty seconds long, and cover the themes of integration, smuggling, organized crime and prosecution.
These ads are meant to display EULEX success stories by presenting statistics on how many cases have been prosecuted and money saved from corruption-fighting measures'". The "With You" series of ads1"' emphasize the cooperative nature of the mission, by providing footage of civilians and uniformed police officers "building" a model of EULEX. They are meant to instill confidence in the ability of
EULEX to carry out its mission and serve Kosovo's citizens. One ad in particular, "MMA +",14 is the only ad to spell out the functions of EULEX: the words "monitoring", "mentoring", and "advising" appear over a yellow Kosovo with small plasteline police officers, soldiers and judges - followed by the word "executive powers" - emphasizing the mission's advisory and decision-making power over
12 Sample: Justice TV Advert "Prosecution". Albanian. Retrieved from http://www.voutube.eom/user/eulexkosovo#p/u/10/nYMyCeuHTSO
13 Sample: EULEX TV Advert "With You". Serbian. Retrieved from http://www.voutube.eom/user/eulexkosovo#p/u/18/UDOrRpuMgzY
14 Sample: EULEX TV Advert "MMA +". English. Retrieved from http://www.voutube.eom/user/eulexkosovo#p/u/19/riA3qiUEJMU
64 Kosovo.
EULEX's press releases are brief and occasionally provide demagogical commentary regarding the necessity of the rule of law and inter-ethnic cooperation. The inability of EULEX's official public relations material to openly address the sources of Kosovar distrust - namely, the "status-neutral" mandate of the mission - will reinforce the notion that the mission is an UNMIK remnant, that will act upon political expediency rather than respect for self-governance.
65 Case Study # 8 Kosovo's Online Newspapers
Table 8. Profile of Kosovo's Major Online Newspapers. Content Analysis.
Table 8.1 Koha Ditore. Content Analysis.
Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting Koha Ditore Professional - Occasional - Broad - Comprehensi Selective - Broad - Covers Informative, In depth covers most ve - covers Aggregates difficulties citizens plurality of reporting on major cities major political international news face due to a lack of sources, political and rural and social on Kosovo through public services, local objective parties and areas, both events of note Yahoo News crime, difficulties in tone, leaders political and in Albanian searches online. educational & health journalistic during social issues communities major headlines of systems. format and election are covered. of Macedonia, international news accountability of language periods. Special Albania, are translated local politicians. features on Serbia, directly from property issues. Most the Economy Montenegro international coverage of social provide a and Greece are sources. issues is reported cohesive covered. through the lense of picture of the Attention is political promises country's paid to and governmental overall wealth attempts at initiatives or and cohesive inefficiencies. production. interaction The capital between these city of communities Prishtina is I.e. issuing the covered in a same separate elementary section titled school "Metropol". textbooks to Albanian as well as Kosovan schools
Table 8.2 Gazeta Express. Content Analysis.
Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting Express Professional - Occasional - Broad - Broad - Broad - Major Broad - Covered in Informative, Completes Diffused Diffused in headlines of sections titled plurality of daily across one section international news "Security" and sources, summaries "Politics" and titled are translated "National", reports objective of national "National", "Regional & directly from sources on health, public tone, headlines focus on International" such as the New space, crime, 66 Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting journalistic across recent local online, Yoik Times or the activism, and other format and Kosovo in elections and diffused across BBC. Both online social topics language its online party "Politics" and and print editorials "exPress" platforms "Economy" in provide critique and feature, print - recent analysis of regularly print and web international news. publishes space has been investigative dedicated to articles on local elections, controversial which may issues such explain lack of as crime and regional abuses of coverage power at the institutional level.
Table 8.3. Kosova Sot. Content Analysis.
', Newspaper , Language I Investigativ C- National C - Regional ' C - International | C - Social e reporting Kosova Sot Editorial - Rare - Broad - Selective - Selective - Major Broad - Covered in Perspective of Majority of Diffused Regional news headlines of sections titled first person, articles are across about international news "Aktualitete" and occasional use varying "Politics", Albanians is are translated "Sociale", reports on of quantifying degrees of "Economy", diffused in directly from sources educational and adjectives, "protocol" and "Aktualitete" such as the New health system, local occasional use journalism. "Municipalitie and "Bota- York Times or the crime, veterans' of "lingo" recycling s", focus on Rajoni", BBC. issues, ethical reform information recent local majority of in public service and received elections and web (and public transportation from official party print) space is sources platforms dedicated to events which occur within Kosovo
Table 8.4 Infopress. Content Analysis.
Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting Infopress Professional - Rare - Comprehensi Broad - Selective - Major Selective - Covered Informative, Majority of ve - Diffused Diffused in headlines of in "National", plurality of articles are across both one section international news "Health" and sources, varying "National" titled are translated "Security" sections 67 Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National j C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting objective degrees of and "Regional & directly from sources online. "National" tone, "protocol" "Political" International" such as the New and "Security" in journalistic journalism, news, reports both online York Times or the print, reports on format and recycling on political and in print BBC. difficulties faced by language information events and Recent print health system and received leaders at and web space efforts to curb local from official local, has been crime, mostly sources. national, and dedicated to through lense of international local elections, institutional and level with which may governmental analysis and explain lack of promises - not at critique regional level of structural provided in coverage problems or personal "Opinions" "Opinions" narrative. section section
Table 8.5. Lajm. Content Analysis.
Newspaper , Language I Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International ' C - Social e reporting Lajm Protocol Rare - Selective Broad - Selective - Majoi Selective - Covered journalism Majority of Focus on Diffused in headlines of in "Ecopohtics" and Summaries or articles are local one section international news "National" sections - retellings of varying elections, titled are translated addresses problems official press degrees of party "Regional & directly from sources faced by local releases, "protocol" platforms, and International such as the New business, veterans' speeches and journalism, political both online York Times or the affairs, and crime - press recycling leaders. and in print. BBC. structural issues or conferences at information Majority of News agency other pressing social local and received content are releases make issues such as national level. from official summaries of up majority of poverty and sources. press releases, reports. corruption are not speeches, and addressed. press conferences.
Table 8.6 Zeri. Content Analysis.
Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting Zeri Professional - Occasional - Comprehensi Comprehensi Comprehensive - Comprehensive - Informative, In depth ve - Diffused ve - Diffused Diffused across Diffused across plurality of reporting on across across international and international and sources, political "Politics" and international national under national under 68 Newspaper Language Investigativ C- National C - Regional C - International C - Social e reporting objective parties and "Society" and national heading "Balkans heading "Balkans and tone, leaders sections under heading and the World" the World" journalistic during "Balkans and format and election the World" language periods.
Table 9. Bias in Kosovo's Online Print.
Table 9.1 Koha Ditore.
Newspaper i Revenue I Political j Access ' Commenting [ Sentiment i Alignments features ; Analysis Koha Ditore Self-sustaining - Slight - No Partial - Limited - In print Slight bias - Advertising, daily official Truncated articles, and online \ majority of circulation, online endorsement ol access to ' editorials, • comments subscription. any party, monograph of fiist ] homepage ; published 1 Affiliated with sympathetic ten years of "message" to demonstrated national television coverage of newspaper content public, "contact ; critique of station Television opposition parties page" allows governing party Received public to access substantial amount newspaper through of support from email, no forum, SOROS no "comment" foundation during option for posted and after conflict articles of 1999
Table 9.2 Gazeta Express.
Newspaper Revenue Political Access Commenting Sentiment Alignments features Analysis Express Corporate Slight - No Complete - Full Comprehensive - Slight bias - sponsorship official text articles, pdf Commenting and Majority without editorial endorsement of files of newspaper "sharing" feature comments input from sponsor any party, uploaded daily available for all published - Sponsored by sympathetic to online articles, demonstrated IPKO, other government and high volume of support of revenue includes ruling party reader comment government circulation and and debate, high advertising space volume of editorial 69 Newspaper Revenue Political Access Commenting Sentiment Alignments features Analysis and op-ed articles in both print and online versions, "interactive" entertainment features such as online games
Table 9.3. Kosova Sot.
I Newspaper Revenue Political Access Commenting Sentiment ! Alignments features Analysis I Kosova Sot Self-sustaining - Blatant-Little to Complete - Full Limited - In print Blatant bias - Appears to receive no critique of text ai tides, pdf and online Overwhelming t advertising and governing party. files of newspaper i editorials, "contact amount of corporate lack of coverage or i uploaded daily ipage" comments sponsorship from negative coverage published ' local businesses, of opposition demonstrated i daily circulation. parties support of ruling obituaries and party ' classifieds, and online subscription fees.
Table 9.4. Infopress.
Newspaper Revenue Political Access Commenting Sentiment Alignments features Analysis Infopress Unknown - Blatant - Little to Broad - Full text Comprehensive - Blatant bias - Appears to receive no critique of articles, pdf files Commenting Overwhelming advertising governing party, of newspaper feature available amount of revenues from lack of coverage or uploaded every for all online comments local businesses, negative coverage few days articles, high published daily circulation, of opposition volume of reader demonstrated and obituaries and parties comment and support of ruling classifieds. debate, high party volume of editorial and op-ed articles in both print and online versions.
70 Table 9.5. Lajm.
Newspaper Revenue Political Access Commenting Sentiment Alignments features Analysis Laj m Unknown - Blatant-Little to Complete - Full Broad - Blatant bias - Appears to receive no critique of text articles, pdf Commenting Overwhelming advertising governing party, files of newspaper feature available amount of revenues from lack of coverage or uploaded daily for all online comments local businesses, negative coverage articles, regular published daily circulation, of opposition reader comment demonstrated and obituaries and parties and debate, support of ruling classifieds. consistent editorial party and op-ed articles in both print and online versions.
Table 9.6. Zeri.
Newspaper Revenue 1 Political Access Commenting Sentiment
i Alignments ! features I Analysis i Zeri i Self-sustaining - Slight - No official Complete - Full ! Comprehensive Slight bias - 1 Appears to receive endorsement of text articles posted. Commenting majority of advertising and any party. as well as feature available comments corporate ! sympathetic additional editoiial for all online , published , sponsorship from coverage of material in the articles, high demonstrated local businesses. opposition parties form of bloas. volume of reader 1 critique of daily circulation, comment and governing party obituaries and debate, high classifieds, and volume of editorial online subscription and op-ed articles fees. in both print and online versions. Also only news site to provide support for applications such as mobile phones and Ipads.
Kosovo's Print Online: Analysis
Reports on the state of Kosovo's free speech and the quality of its journalism vary. Reporters
Without Borders (2010) ranked Kosovo as the 92nd country on its 2010 Freedom of Speech Index,
71 whereas the International Research & Exchange Board's latest Media Sustainability Report (2010) describes positive improvements both in the plurality of Kosovo's news outlets and the Kosovan judicial system's protection of journalists. A three-day content analysis of Kosovo's top daily newspapers brought forth patterns and trends which were surprising and not immediately apparent.
Upon further analysis, a more complex and heterogeneous picture of Kosovo's mediascape appears.
The majority of Kosovo's citizens receive their daily news and entertainment from Kosovo's three national television stations - newspapers rank second as a source of information. Each of
Kosovo's most read and widely circulated daily newspapers have online counterparts, the majority of which house archives of full-text pdf back-copies. The newspapers observed included Koha Ditore
(The Dailv Times), Kosova Sot (Kosovo Today), Express, Infopress, and Lajm (News). My analysis of each newspaper began on October 22. 2009 and ended on October 24. 2009.
The newspapers Koha Ditore and Express provided the richest results in terms of the frequency of investigative journalism and breadth of coverage. Koha Ditore contained the highest amount of informative and analytical daily coverage, whereas Express took the lead in investigative reporting and public interaction. Infopress and Kosova Sot provided less analytical content or investigative reporting, but did cover a wide breadth (if not depth) in its daily content. Infopress and Kosova Sot noticeably provided more web and print space to celebrity news, and occasionally indulged in personal/editorial language in reporting. Lajm lacked analytical content, investigative reporting and a breadth of coverage
- a large amount of print and web space recycled summaries of press releases, speeches and press conferences.
In terms of ownership, all newspapers appeared self-sufficient - Express's layout implied that
IPKO, a Slovenian telecommunications company, was a corporate sponsor. Express's article content
72 did not reflect any editorial imposition by above company, but IPKO ads covered a large amount of advertising space. Sources of revenue were made implicit by ad placements and classified ads in all newspapers, but content analysis was unable to reveal the structural make-up of the newspapers' funding.
The majority of Kosovo's popular daily newspapers - Koha Ditore, Express, and Infopress used professional, journalistic language. Articles were written from an objective and informative standpoint, with reference a variety of sources,. Kosova Sot occasionally used casual language and lingo in its reporting, while Lajm reproduced the "protocol" wording and content of its official sources.
Each of the newspapers observed provided representative coverage of Kosovo's political spectrum. Alignment with one political party or ideology was not implicit or explicit in any content.
However, greater analysis and coverage of social problems was lacking in Lajm, Infopress, and Kosova
Sol. Koha Ditore and Express currently provide the most comprehensive and critical examinations of
Kosovo's social and economic problems.
Where wide-ranging public engagement was possible, whether online or in print, a variety of public views were published in all five newspapers. Public participation and digital access went hand in hand - Express and Infopress provided the most content online and had the most active and outspoken commentators. Koha Ditore and Express provided the most comprehensive and critical editorials in its print editions.
The above findings suggest a wide spectrum of media quality and coverage nationally - two leading quality newspapers (Koha Ditore and Express), two broad and "populist" newspapers (Kosova
Sot and Infopress), and one dominated by "protocol" journalism (Lajm).
73 CHAPTER 4.2 Kosovo's Online Public Sphere - Possibilities for Communities of Dissent?
The case studies presented in this study provide a nuanced landscape against which to discuss the possibility for the formation of communities of dissent (Drache) and the emancipatory potential of networked platforms in Kosovo. For the purposes of this study, three conditions will determine the community-forming potential of the case studies described above (drawing from Drache's description of communities of dissent):
1. The presence of hubs of discussion where political and social positions are formed.
2. Continued engagement and public use of critical thought.
3. The presence of a progressive project or cause.
Kosovo Two Point Zero. New Kosova Report, Zeri, Koha Ditore and Gazeta Express fulfill some, if not all of these conditions. It is clear that the sites which provide a platform of communication between content consumers and creators, create conditions for community formation, and also tend to be faster and better at accessing and publishing substantive, timely information. Kosovo's internet presence allows for not only new potential discursive communities, but also "brand" and shape the image of the country. They allow for the creation of loose ties across borders and also serve as a national "digital face". Governmental websites that are created in order to perform an informative function would be better served if allowed to bypass bureaucratic procedure and had more autonomy to function without interference. The news and current event websites listed above are in a better position to forge networks and communities due to an intelligent utilization of Web 2.0 technology, which involves interpreting user data and translation of site content, as well as non-formal sources of funding.
Regularly collect and evaluate user data
The sites Kosovo Two Point Zero, New Kosova Report and Kosovo Thanks You had total access 74 to site statistics and weie able to piovide a moie exact poitiait of how many people weie visiting then sites, wheie they weie clicking fiom and what they weie mteiested m Both Visit Kosova and IPAK stated that this mtoimation was "piobably" held by the contiacted opcratois, without making it cleai how this information was aichived and momtoied Monitonng visitoi behavioui on the site enables
Kosovo Two Point Zero and New Kosova Report to catei to then visitois, deteimme what kind of content is popular, and to establish whethei the sites aie hitting, missing 01 expanding beyond then target audiences
Linking to affiliated sites
It is not enough to simply build a site to cieate an online community - conveisational "hubs" need to be located in the nexus ot a netwoik of affiliated sites thiough backtiackmg and pioviding links Kosova Thanks You NeM Kosova RepoU and Kosovo Two Point Zeio contain links to sites v\ith affiliated 01 similai mandates on then homepage 01 on sidebais which ensuies that the site will lemam
"on the ladai" - particulaily in seaich engine lequest lesults Visit Kosova and IPAK piovide mteigovernmental links, however, links to affiliated legional and/oi local sites legardmg Kosovan tounsm 01 industry would increase the likelihood of "stakeholder' visitois to the sites
Translation Practices
In terms of efficiency m translation, the fastest and best results seem to be achieved when the translation is done m-house by a private site administrator or when translation was sent outside of the organization to an official translator The quality and speed of translation was found lacking when undertaken by mter-Ministry translators, who are often overworked and generally handle the translation of legal jaigon Kosovo Thanks You and New Kosova Report have content created exclusively by
English speakers, whereas Kosovo Two Point Zero employs translators None of Kosovo's major news
75 sites are translated into English or another international language.
In terms of reaching as great an intemational audience as possible and creating potentially transnational online communities, translation in not only English but other major languages is crucial in establishing a tie between Kosovars and the rest of the world.
Financial Support
The quality and popularity of privately administered and financed sites such as Kosova Thanks
You and New Kosova Report is an opportunity for positive and potentially politically and socially active ties between Kosovars and Kosovars and transnational movements. However, it is unclear how long the creators of the sites will be willing and able to provide the time and the money to keep the content relevant and the site maintained. Support or cooperation of some kind in the form of grants, subsidies or human resources (with a minimum amount of interference) would guarantee that the sites would not only continue their current success, but possibly grow to become sites reaching audiences of hundreds of thousands.
If websites such as Kosovo Two Point Zero, Kosovo Thanks You and New Kosova Report create conditions for the kind of continued engagement that produces communities of dissent, it is important that institutional websites recognize how much of a difference an accessible and informative online presence makes on that institution's transparency and relationship to the public. It is also important to state that institutional sites serve as the official digital face of Kosovo, and as a result have a role to play in Kosovo's national public relations campaign.
Kosovo's Online Public Sphere
The expansion of internet access in Kosovo in the post-war period and the emergence of
Kosovo-specific online "hubs" necessitate a mapping of Kosovo's online presence. Kosovo's
76 institutional websites provide a national image and an official discourse for Kosovo, Kosovo's news websites enable the cieation of online diaspoia communities "Alternative" websites such as Kosovo
Two Point Zero, Kosovo Thanks You and New Kosova Report provide spaces for Kosovars to discuss current events and form communities which allow for the sharing of ideas and networking within and beyond Kosovo with like-mmded individuals. In broad terms, Kosovo Two Point Zero, Kosovo Thanks
You and New Kosova Report fulfill three conditions for the creation of online communities that can embody a spirit of dissent and belief in a progressive project. The "project" of these three sites is implied rather than explicit, and involves the promotion of Kosovo's independence, critique of hei political institutions and the international presence in Kosovo, and forging ties between Kosovais and sympathizers of Kosovo's cause abroad The presence of a bioader vision than representing Kosovo's institutionally and reporting events in Kosovo, as well as the transnational element oi the three sites mentioned above - maik a fundamentally diffeient and new niche in Kosovo's public spheie. The melding of Kosovan interests and Web 2.0 technology for discussion and community formation across borders has implications for the conception of the Kosovar citizen, and requires an investigation of national and civil identity in Kosovo.
77 CHAPTER 5 Issues of Civic Identity in Kosovo
Something is beginning in Kosovo - there are spaces for the creation of a new kind of Kosovo, not in the expensive foreign campaigns of advertising companies - but in the blogs that are written by young Kosovars about their day to day lives and by the sites that promote in a comprehensive way the opportunity for growth in the country. A critical mass of this kind of content in a language that is universally understood on a platform that has cheap and easy access to millions - will effectively inform and change the image of Kosovo - the Kosovo of the present, not the Kosovo of 1999.
In Social Identity Jenkins (2004) states that we identify ourselves through the internal-external dialectic between our self-image and our public image. Through labeling, be it of our own doing or of a foreigner, internalization can occur. A Kosova Stability Initiative (2008) report titled "Image Matters'" demonstrated that crime rates in Kosovo were actually less severe and frequent as they were in other
Balkan states. The report argued that Kosovo's acceptance into the European Union was a matter of technical issues and political will - the latter being the more important factor. In the absence of a positive self-image, there could be no positive public image for Kosovo and a slow road ahead in regards to EU recognition and acceptance.
Jenkins however makes an important distinction between nominal and virtual identity - the name versus the experience of a label. Kosovars may geographically be a part of Europe and desire to be a European state among European states, or Kosovars may feel that they already are a part of Europe geographically and merely require EU acceptance to ease technical issues such as visas and work permits. It is clear that what others think of us is important, for it is through our dialectical relationship with "them" that "we" are defined - in this case, as EU members, as fully European, or a Balkan
78 humanitarian case. A public panel held in July 2010 in Prishtina titled EUTopia (Maliqi, 2010) suggested that the EU will not change its perception of Kosovo until Kosovais start changing their peiception of themselves. The ideas of social responsibility and individualism were brought up, and the room was divided among those who suggested that Kosovo's communist and repressive past had created a society of conformists - and those who believed that Kosovo suffered from a middle class too absorbed with its own advancement to take social or civic action. All members of the panel agreed that
Kosovo and Kosovais suffered from a surplus of history - which provides a feeling of continuity and significance, which in and of itself is not necessarily negative. Jenkins states something similar:
"Continuity posits a meaningful past and a possible future, and, particularly with respect to identification, is part of the sense of order and predictability upon which the human world depends . .individually the past is memory and collectively it is history "(p.26) The narrative of continuity addiesscd by Jenkins, transposed onto Kosovo is the continuity of Albanians and Albanian history in Kosovo. In Kosovo this continuity has been challenged by the establishment of new national symbols, leading to a situation in which the term "Kosovar" has become one open to debate.
Tim Judah's (2000) Kosovo describes the years leading up to and following the 1999 conflict with the perspective and discourse of a journalist, but accurately points out that Serbian and Albanian
Kosovan communities have two very different ideas about what constitutes a "Kosovar" identity. The
Serbian perception of Kosovo connects the region to the birthplace of Serbian Orthodoxy and the site of Serbian resistance to the Ottoman Empire, the site of the Battle of the Blackbirds and the fall of King
Lazar. For Albanians, Kosovo is the birthplace of the Albanian Renaissance and the League of Prizren, the earliest alliance of Albanians for the cause of Albanian statehood - as well as the site of the ancient
Illyrian tribe of Dardama, the ancestors of modern-day Albanians. These two identities hold a sacred
79 value to both communities in Kosovo, and deteimine then vision foi the futuie as well Seibian
Kosovais look towaids Belgiade and unification with Seibia, while Albanian Kosovais hope foi full independence, entiy into the EU, and a possible unification ot federation with Albania What can budge the gap between the two communities7 Jenkins bungs up seveial terms, and the development of
"collective life" seems to be the most equitable - it involves adjustment of the self to otheis, internalization of some noi ms and the pioduction of "an 01 dei ly human world" (p 40)
Civic and National Identity
The fiagmentation of identity and the alteiation of old categones descnbed is occumng slowly in Kosovo This is not to say that Albanians no longei peiceive of themselves as Albanians 01 that
Seibians no longei peiceive of themselves as Seibians but uthei that the question of citizen based identity \eisus ethnicity based identity is slowly coming to play in the post-independence penod
Naysayeis state that a 'multiethnic Kosovo" was an invention of the EU and the United States, and that actions undertaken to budge the Seibian mmonty and the Albanian majonty had moie to do with political expediency than genuine dialogue 01 lelationship building The crucial question is, will there be a new narrative of Kosovo - one that has nothing to do with the ethnic histories of its communities, but with the shared expenence of being Kosovars7 Where can this identity find expression7
According to Stuart Hall (1996), the mixture of the foimerly colonized and the colonizers leads to the instability of national and cultural identities This has caused two reactions a desire to protect those identities, and an expansion of the spectrum of identities - identities that circulate with polarization "amongst and between them" and that are formed on the basis of a conception of difference (p 4) Globalization could lead to the strengthening of local identities or the creation of new identities The reinforcing of local identities is usually the defensive reaction of majority ethnic groups
80 when faced with minority cultures, and often takes the form of cultural racism. This is matched by an equally defensive response from minority communities who retreat to enclaves - both sides engage in reidentification with their group and emphasize cultural traditionalism. In the context of Kosovo,
Judah (2000) describes how the global economic recession of the 1980's negatively affected
Yugoslavia, exacerbating pre-existing tensions between ethnic groups - particularly in Kosovo, the poorest region of the country. The global effect of the recession did have a "trickle-down" effect on
Kosovo's political economy that did little to improve ethnic tensions m the region, but the separation between Serb and Albanian communities m Kosovo predated this. The discourse of colonizer-colonized cannot be used in the case of Kosovo in the same way as India or South Africa (despite Malcolm's accounts of forced Albanian migrations and incentive-based calls for Serb migration to Kosovo during the beginning of the 19th century) - the question of identity m Kosovo today is arguably not the result of colonizers and former victims of colonization "mixing", living and interacting in the same area, but of international expectations regarding the new state's viability.
The question of new identities as posed by Hall (1996) is an interesting one - the example of a cohesive identity such as "black", that can exist alongside a range of difference sounds almost impossible in the setting of the Balkans - unless it accounts for a pan-Slav, pan-Albanian, pan-Hellenic identity which transcends geographical borders but not ethnic ones. Hall (1996) states that globalization has the effect of dislocating the closed format of national culture - it pluralizes and creates new positions and politics - in the Balkans, I would say that political decisions of the past century have created a situation in which minority groups serve as a constant reminder of the non-homogenous nature of states (those minorities could be Serb, Albanian, Greek, etc.) as described by Appadurai in
Violence.
81 Hall (1996) discusses the difference between the concepts of "Tiadition" and "Translation" and captuies the tension between the two - certain identities tiy to restoie "punty" and lecovei a sense of unity by giavitating towaids Tradition, while Translation allows for the subjectivity and mterpietive nature of identity - which is dependent on history, politics, representation and difference. In post- independence Kosovo, the tension between Tiadition and Translation has just begun to become an issue of public debate. Hall states that cultuial identities are in tiansition because of transnational movements and the cultuial mixes of globalization, but in Kosovo the "global" factoi has only become apparent with the presence and attention of the international community
Hall's description of diaspora communities and the way then sense of community is based on tianslation can find substantial correlation to the expenence of mmonty communities acioss the
Balkans Diaspoia communities consist of identity formations that tianscend geography and are made of people who left then home - they letain strong links to then homeland, but "are without the illusion of a let urn to the past " They are not and will never be unified in the old sense, because they aie a product of different histories and cultures, belonging to more than one home: "People belonging to such cultures of hybridity have had to renounce the dream or ambition of rediscovering any kind of lost cultural purity, or ethnic absolutism. They are irrevocably translated." (Hall, 1996, p.119). The separation and dispersion of Albanian communities across the Balkans is one example discussed by
Judah (2008) - while Albanians in Macedonia identify with Albania and other Albanians, at the particular, local level they identify as Albanians of Macedonia. This situation is also the case in Serbian communities m the south of Kosovo - while they identify with Serbia at the national level, at the local level they are Serbs of Kosovo. This may not hybridity in Hall's sense, but it is a dualism which contradicts the idea of the ethnically "pure" state.
82 Hall (1996) identifies that the lens thiough which national identity is examined needs leconfigunng - the breaking down of national soveieignty and the collapse of communism in the
Balkans has not been followed by mcieasing liberalism, demociacy and cosmopolitanism, but by a levival of ethnic nationalism Neithei libeiahsm noi Maixism could have piedicted this letum to local and paiticulai identities Nationalism and ethnicity aie not archaic ideas that disappeai because of modernization - they aie lived and embodied, despite 01 perhaps in leaction to globalization
Biadley (1996) piovides commentaiy on the natuie of ethnicity and identity in Fractured
Identities - and states that ethnicity is a moie poweiful foice than class in piomoting identification, and it is moie likely to politicize identity Ioimation Biadley makes the important distinction that awaieness of ethnicity is not a constant, it only emeiges in specific contexts and conditions Polanzation and social inequality cieate conditions foi the fiagmentation of oppiessed gioups (p 206) and then homogcnization Post-independence Kosovo places individuals at the ciossioads descnbed by Biadley
- the intersection between fiagmentation and polanzation Both cunents aie manifesting - polanzation in the foim of the sepaiatist movements by the majonty-Seib community m the northern Kosovan city of Mitrovica, and fragmentation in the attempt to integiate as many ethnic communities into the fabric of Kosovo's state by allowing for the decentralization of majonty-Seib communities from Pnshtma
Albanian Identity in Kosovo
Who is Kosovar7 Kosovar Identity is a 2005 collection of essays regarding the nature of
Kosovo's identity It asks the question of what does it mean to be a Kosovar, and whether that meaning can be one that is not based in ethnic identity The two philosophical extremes regarding this issue are represented by politician Arben Xhafeii on one hand, and journalist and cultural commentator Shkelzen
Maliqi on the other Xhafen's (2005) "The Challenge of Identity" describes how the cieation of the
83 "Albanian nairative" came into being in the mid-1800's, which provided a basis of identification for all
Albanians icgardless of their religious backgiound and political inclinations. This period is known as the "Albanian Rebirth", and was speai headed by Albanian intelligentsia of the middle class who had been educated abroad in Western Euiope or the Ottoman Empire. It provided Albanians with a renewed sense of their past, and a clear political and ethnic identity. Politics and ethnicity cannot be separated easily in the case of Albanians, accoidmg to Xhafen, since a large chunk of Albanian land was separated from Albania in the Conference of London of 1913. Unity of identity and reverence of the past m the "Rebirth" sense are at the very coie of Albanian identity, be it in Kosovo, Macedonia,
Montenegro or Albania. Turning away fiom this inheritance or "changing" history is "intellectually mesponsiblc", according to Xhafen (p 77)
Shkelzen Mahqi's (2005) article "Albanian Identity" and Isuf Bensha's (1996) article "The
Balkan Syndrome of Excessive Histoiy" take an opposing positions towards Xhafer. Maliqi emphasizes that Albanians do not live m a vacuum, and the borders of "Albamanness" are porous - prone to transformation from generation to generation. The idea of what constitutes Albannianess as such is organic, heterogeneous and is always in transition: "The real strength of the Albanian world lies in its diversity, and not a particular determinative category, whichever may it be." (Maliqi, 2005, p.228).
After the collapse of Communism and Yugoslavia, the perceived sameness of national identity in
Kosovo came into question. One reason for this is the factor of risk - without an oppressive Serbian presence, Kosovars felt the need to ensure complete unity for the success of the liberation movement of
Kosovo. Maliqi (2005) hopes for the creation of a "non-ethnic" Kosovo, or rather one which values citizenship over ethnicity: "The ethnic state is nowadays almost meaningless, because the denomination itself shows that it is a discriminative state for the citizens of other ethnicities and
84 communities." (p.237)
Bensha (1996) takes a slightly different position, by focusing on historiography regarding
Kosovo, particularly the two narratives of Kosovo that are told by Seibians and Albanians. He describes the way both communities have written about the other m historical literature in order to promote a nationalist program. Serbs were ahead of the game m terms of "demonizing" Albanians as having historically mistreated and abused Serbians in Kosovo in the 1970's and 1980's, while Kosovo
Albanians did not feel courageous enough to critique the Serbian version of events with their own nationalist history until the 1990's. Bensha makes the point that looking at the past is in fact a way to look at the future, and that "historians who enter the basement of history with a nationalist key, will return with an army of ghosts calling for levenge. confrontation and new wars "(p 4). The nationalist worldview is not about revering the past, it is about reliving and correcting it The multi-perspectival meaning of histoiy is lost to nationalist reasoning, and allows for only one "correct" narrative. Rathei than looking to history to coiTect the wrongs of the past, Bensha (1996) suggests a project of cooperation and coexistence between Albanians and Serbs m Kosovo, adding that: "Only on the basis of a project of this kind could they come to understand that their contest is non-existent."(p.6).
Berisha's article does not provide advice as to how this would be achieved.
European and Kosovar Identity
Gani Bobi (2005) wrote a similar article regarding national identity titled "Culture, Identity and the Nation", and provides a brief overview of contemporary thought regarding social identity formation. When discussing European identity in particular, Bobi emphasizes its contradictory nature, its eternally tense relationship between religion and the mind, faith and doubt, myth and critique, philosophy and science, tradition and modernity. European humanism created a situation in of constant
85 philosophical antagonism, which enduies and cieates contiadictions These contiadictions emeige in the space between humanism's puiported univeisahty and its euio centnsm Dialogue between its contiadictions occuis because leason and critical thought is not spaicd in the humanist Euiopean tiadition, and no topic is above discussion (1996, Bobi, p 17) Accoiding to Bobi (1996), Euiopeans have increasingly teahzed that humanism is not a stnctly Euiopean tradition, but is lathei a univeisal ideal Bobi closes his article by stating that Euiopean peoples aie mcieasmgly moie awaie of diveisity and understand the benefits that diveise immigiation bungs with itself
Maliqi (2005) and Bensha (1996) come closei to appioachmg Bobi's (1996) definition of
Euiopean cultuial identity - one that is able incoipoiate a wide vanety ol contiadictions within a nation and a societ) The contiadictions ieside m the value affoided to tiaditional customs and national nanattves in opposition to the humanist discornse of Maliqi, Bensha and Bobi Maliqi, Bensha and
Bobi lecognize the constituted natuie of ethnic identities, as well as the dangei of foimulatmg histoncal and political woildviews based on those identities Maliqi states how fluid and undefined the
"boideis" of identity can become depending on context, Bensha warns against how exclusively ethnic history distorts fact, and Bobi describes the European tradition of debate, critique and reason, I suspect as a suggested lens through which to considei Albanian cultural identity
Being a Citizen of Kosovo
Huntington's (2004) "Who Are We" seeks to explore, explain and find solutions for the United
States' "crisis" of national identity, but there are interesting correlations in terms of the recent question of what constitutes Kosovan identity "Who We Are" begins with the premise that national American identity lost its salience in the United States due to other-national, subnational and transnational identities Other-national refers to groups of peoples which immigrated to the United States (Italians,
86 Chinese, etc ), subnational lefeis to othei nationalities, ethnicities and laces histoncally "Amencan"
(Afncan Amencan, Native Amencan, etc ) and tiansnational identities, which aie a lecent manifestation partially due to the globalized natuie of commeice and migiation (Huntington, 2004, p 5) The expansion of these identities weakened the salience of a unifying Ameiica national identity, which leemeiged only in the afteimath of 9/11 Aftei that point, the sense of Amencan national identity was stiengthened acioss the countiy, and Huntington asks whethei such manifestations of salience and national unity only occut m times of cnsis (pi2)
Despite the diffeience in histoncal context, the same "dilemma" of national salience can be identified m Kosovo, and is fuithei pioblematized by the question who aie Kosovo s histoncally
'Kosovan" inhabitants and what kind of beanng does this have on the concept ol citizenship7
Depending on who you ask the answei could go back a few hundied yeais (to the medieval kingdom of Seibian King Lazai) oi a few thousand yeais (to the Illynan Albanian kingdom of Daidama) with both Seibs and Albanians claiming to be the only "tiue" Kosovais A unified sense of "Kosovarness" from the Albanian side can be identified in the last thirty yeais in Kosovo, from the early 1980's until the declaiation of independence in 2008 - however, this unfolded beneath the umbiella of a widei
Albanian identity This can be attributed in part to Serbian political and military oppression, comparable to Huntington's "crisis", which facilitated both the separation and solidification of two separate narratives regarding the national identity of Kosovo - one Albanian, and the other Serbian
Kosovo's parallel structures of education and government created conditions in which Albanians m
Kosovo found a discourse of resistance in a shared, unified Albanian identity In post-war Kosovo, the letreat of Seibia heralded a return of public expiessions of Albanian identity - the names of streets and schools changed, Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers were awarded medals, talk of unification with
87 Albania lesuifaced, and the majonty of Seibs left Kosovo or sought sheltei in enclaves Post- independence howevei, Kosovo's government has a commitment enshnned in the constitution to embody multiethnic, paiticipatoiy demociacy This involves mtegiation of all of Kosovo's mmonties into its economic, political and cultuial life This is conceptually challenging, since "Kosovai" as a denationalized mdicatoi of citizenship is new - especially for geneiations of Kosovais who have equated Kosovarness with Albanianness 01 Seibianness If we lefer back to Huntington (2004), this conflation of national identity with civic identity can be explained by Kosovar Albanians constantly being m a "state of cnsis" while dealing with Seibian oppiession In the absence of that oppiession, sub identities and alternative identities in Kosovo have the potential space to emeige - this is not necessanly as negative as Huntington attempts to make us believe but they do necessitate the questioning of national identity as such The issue of civic identity m Kosovo is a crucial one, foi the dynamic between the citizen and the state m Kosovo undei lies most debates about education integration, local politics, immigration, and othei public issues, not ethnic identity as such
Huntington's (2004) issue against sub-identities that run counter national identity lies in the fact that at the point of America's independence, the country's population and identity was for the most part homogenous - white, British, Protestant and loyal to the constitution - which is no longer the case
This isn't a purely American phenomenon however - all over the globe countries are expenencmg similar "crises" of homogeneity, caused by a vanety of factors the global economy, improvements in communication and transportation, migration, the expansion of democracy and the end of the Cold War
(Huntington, 2004, p 13) According to Huntington (2004) these factors have led people to redefine themselves in narrower, regional and subnational terms - which sometimes take more extreme foims and turn into movements that call for recognition, autonomy or independence Huntington however
88 fails to take into account that homogeneity is never a static state, and that the course of history shows that nations and nationalities shift, rise and disappear. Huntington insists upon the importance of a salient national identity, and states that Amencans need to "invigorate their core culture", by reaffirming America's Anglo-Protestant, European identity - without stating why this is necessary or desirable (p.20).
Pula (2005) refers to the issue of national identity salience within the context of Kosovo. Pula states that the idea of a single Albanian nation in Kosovo emerged out of a desire and a need to identify with an opposing national identity. Pula echoes Huntington in stating that Serbian oppression and displacement of Albanians strengthened ethnic boundaries between Albanians and Serbs, and that the threat of Serbian violence cieated a sense of shaied, unitaiy Albanianness amongst Albanian Kosovars.
It was the threat of violence that spurred Albanians in Kosovo to identify with national Albania, along with the accompanying discouise of Albamamsm of the Renewal penod. When Communism lell in
Albania and the borders were opened, disillusionment set in in Kosovo when Kosovars witnessed the devastation left behind by fifty years of Albanian communism: ".. the Albamamsm of Enver Hoxha, which had fed the ideology of Kosovars during whole decades, ended up being a fatal ideology"(Pula,
2005, p.29). The relationship of Albania and Kosovo is a complicated one, affected by generations of
Envenst separation and the recent post-1999 burst of contact. Pula (2005) states that in Albania a
Kosovar is accepted first as a Kosovar, and then as an Albanian. However, most Kosovars identify themselves as Albanians, and as Kosovars secondarily.
Pula makes a crucial comment in regards to Kosovo's national identity in stating that:
"...especially for those born and raised in the urban environment, and who do not find themselves in the qumtessentially rural setting of national folklore.. .the hegemony of the pan-Albaniamsm of the '70s
89 has reached its climax" (p.34). The discourse of the pan-Albanian national identity is no longei
effective in any meaningful way accoiding to Pula, except as an answer towards perceived threats of
intrusion or invasion.
It is important to note here that Kosovo's post-1999 UN administration did not seek to create a
new Kosovar "nation" upon entry into Kosovo, but rather a "multi-ethnic" Kosovo in which
communities would be in mutual competition for ethnic interests and cooperate on issues of mutual
importance. According to both Pula, Albanian Kosovar nationalism of the Yugoslav-Serbian years was
an instinctual "safety mechanism" response against Serb oppression, shared today only by an older
generation of Kosovar Albanians. This however, does not account for the popularity of parties such as
the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Self Deteimmation movement- both populist entities which
lely on the bond of Albanian identity. Both parties run on a platform of respect for Kosovo's minorities,
thus complicating the seemingly "nationalist"' category of both parties. Citizenship and national identity
in Kosovo are intertwined, but not in a Gordian bind. An inhabitant of Kosovo can move between
national identity and civic identity, the interests of which must constantly be measured against one
another.
Where does that leave Kosovo? Can an identity which is inclusive beyond the bonds of
ethnicity be fostered in Kosovo? Will that be enough for Albanian Kosovars who are experiencing
ownership of their country for the first time? Will it be enough for Kosovo's Serbian population in the north, who feel no inclination to identify with a state which they feel is illegitimate?
Lessons to be Learned from Europe
How do Kosovars imagine European belonging? Shkelzen Mahqi's (1998) article "Albanians
and Europe" explores how the relationship between Albanians and Europe has been conceptualized in
90 the Albanian cultural and political context. In "Albanians and Europe" Maliqi stales that Albanian public opinion has cieated a stereotype of Euiope as a "careless mothei" who has left her "unfortunate and neglected son" (Albanians) "to the mercies of the hordes of Slavic and Turkish barbarians. This stereotype perpetuates constant victimhood, as well as a belief in the "wretchedness" of the Albanian people as a whole. Maliqi states that this is a symptom of years of dictatorship which not only prevented Albanians from seeing the reality of Europe, but also pievented Albanians from seeing themselves as they are sans narratives of martyrdom and suffering at the hands of other Balkan nations or the West. When Maliqi is referring to the Albanian experience of dictatorship he is speaking of the
Communist legime m Albania pioper as well as the oppression of Albanians in Macedonia and Kosovo in the formei Yugoslavia.
The isolation of Albania and the disillusionment of Macedonian and Kosovar Albanians outside of Albania with Albania transformed the idea of Europe into a new promised land, offering the woik. security and opportunity unavailable at home. However, the reality of immigration proved to be somewhat different: "An Albanian, driven distracted by his own country, which was economically, politically and spiritually devastated, and forced to leave his own self behind, encountered out there m
Europe merely European indifference and her weakened ability to assimilate him" (Maliqi, 1998, p.66).
The happiness of Europe was discovered to be a chimera, or a state only achieved by "back breaking and exhausting toil" (Maliqi, 1998, p.66). This feeling spurred the creation of closely knit Diaspora communities abroad, which were able to retain community ties without becoming ghettoized from their host country.
According to Maliqi (1998), the positive facets of Albanian immigration to Europe are due to two factors: In contrast to earlier waves of immigration, the political, cultural and educational
91 Albanian elite did not leave in Albania, or in Kosovo or Macedonia. The lower and middle classes which have emigrated have been "catapulted" into Europe, thus ensuring that "an entire generation that would otherwise have been totally lost has been brought up and is developing in a European spirit."
(p.69).
The Albanian experience of Europe stands in interesting contrast to the ideas of J.G.A. Pocock
(2002) and Zygmunt Bauman (2004) regarding the question of "European identity". Pocock defines two narratives of Europe - the Europe of the Enlightenment, which perceived of Europe as a network of states bound together by trade and commerce, and the current configuration of Europe, which is described as a submersion and subjugation of political, ethnic and cultural communities to the demands of the global market. Pocock expresses his concern about a European Union which is rendering the state ineffective. Pocock also explores the historical trajectory of the geographical and cultural definition of "Europe". His comments on Eastern Europe are interesting, for he obliquely states that
Eastern Europe is somehow a territory "separate" from the shared, collective understanding of Europe.
The invasions of Russia and the Ottoman Empire into these regions of Europe have somehow rendered them "foreign" in the imagination of the West, a frontier land half-lost to foreign influences. Pocock states: "Should we say that the affairs of former Yugoslavia ought to be arranged by "Europe" because they are part of it? Or should we say that this area is a barbaric frontier (or rather a collision of archaic frontiers in a world still barbaric), which it is better to avoid trying to control?"(p.67).
Zygmunt Bauman provides another interpretation of what European identity means, and states that they are based on particular values, such as reason, justice, democracy, etc. These values may only be so in spirit rather than practice, but they represent the ideas to which "Europe" aspires (p. 125).
Where Pocock worries over the subjugation of the nation state, Bauman puts forth the idea that
92 allegiance to political and civil norms beyond (and to the exclusion of) the state and the mythology of the nation is possible in Europe. Bauman emphasizes inclusivity as a distinctly European norm, inherited through generations of empires and kingdoms that have tolerated difference (the first obvious example being the Roman Empire). Bauman states that the idea of Europe is not one that necessarily needs to be based on a nation-state, not when there are mechanisms in place to ensure the equality of all groups within the borders of a particular country. "Heroic patriotism" is a mechanism, an appeal to sentimentality used by those states which have not yet found more effective ways to incur cohesion among their citizens. Rather than looking towards the past and attempting to protect the nation-state as it has been traditionally understood, Bauman suggests that the state as we know it, linked to a particular nation, overlooks the fact that they are political creations capable of change and transformation (p. 133).
Bauman calls on Europe to develop a sense of "global aspiration" and global responsibility. This involves tackling globally generated conflicts and not allowing local interests to be used as a justification for overlooking the obstacles and injustices experienced by others. This logic will spur
Europe into a new political landscape and will require experimentation and risk to succeed. Bauman suggests that the necessary values are already in place among the citizens of Europe to set such a line of reasoning into action (p. 141).
Is such a Europe possible? Europe has provided the Balkans with a political system and cultural landscape to learn from, as well as necessary economic and diplomatic assistance - along with manipulation and historical exploitation. How does one move past narratives of history, belonging and national identity to the narrative of open access, collaboration and free speech of the ideal public sphere of the online world? Are there connections to be drawn between patterns of internet use, citizenship, and identity in Kosovo? If so, in what ways do they manifest themselves?
93 CONCLUSION The Civic Nature of Kosovo Online
This chapter will take the position that a cosmopolitan, globalized public sphere is nothing more
than a broader manifestation of Anderson's "imagined public sphere". Questions regarding ideas of citizenship hinge upon not only upon historical context, but also on the necessity of a public dialogue
to take place for qualitative democracy - which according to Inglehart, require conditions of trust and
toleiance. What the Internet provides is a sphere of interaction that is more expansive and inclusive than other mediums - it spills over national and ethnic boundaries, it links diasporas and communities,
and gives free reign to all kinds of political and social discourses. It makes up the public sphere and the
public discourse of a nation. This work has been an attempt to examine the sphere of the Intemet within
the context of Kosovo's media development, and to attempt to determine the characteristics of this
sphere and possible case studies for further study.
The existing literature on media development and media freedom in Kosovo focuses heavily on the past ten years after NATO's intervention and UN administration. It follows a trajectory of international attempts at rebuilding Kosovo's infrastructure and introducing modem journalistic practices to Kosovar media practitioners. The literature has surprisingly few remarks about the nature of Kosovo's media audience, but tangential assumptions are made: the majority of Kosovars watch television, very few Kosovars react in cases where freedom of the press has been infringed, and newspapers are the least sold news source in the country. Outright statements of Kosovan journalism's bias and ethnocentric nature are made periodically throughout the 1999-2010 period, as well as the accusation of "press conference" or "protocol" journalism. And that may be the case, but what the literature ignores is a slow but steady growth in internet access and internet usage across Kosovo over 94 this period. The last decade has seen the gradual digitalization of newspapei content and radio and television content, mtioducing a new factor in Kosovo's presumably stunted and problematic public sphere.
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority data has shown a level of growth that can be quantifiably measured, but what remains to be seen is a qualitative analysis of what this medium does for democratic discourse and journalistic practices in Kosovo. Notable examples are sites which are not affiliated directly with an existing newspaper, radio channel or television station. The sites selected for this study where chosen on the basis of then popularity and level of sustainabihty, and across the spectrum of new 2.0 methods of communication and more traditional, news based sites. The level of engagement acioss the sites and their 2 0 "satellites"' demonstrates the presence of a public spheie which is not entuely passive, while the content produced on the sites demonstrates a dedication to standards of accuiacy and quality compaiable to those ol newspapeis. uidio stations and television stations. Communities of dissent and discussion develop around these sites, which necessitate a reformulation of what it means to act publicly m Kosovo, and by extension what it means to act as a citizen of Kosovo. It seems contradictory that a public sphere that was so vocal and demonstrative during Yugoslavian dictatorship of the 1980's and 1990's would transform to one passive and unconcerned with public affairs post 1999. What the presence of the internet has proven is that it is not that the public sphere as such became apathetic, but that there was a need for a forum which allowed for end-user responses, as opposed to heavily moderated letters to the editor or station phone calls. In the presence of such forums, communities formed around them, generating public debate over social and political issues, and occasionally resulting in offline activity - such as Kosovo 2.0's involvement in
95 the cication of TED Pnshtina 3 events 01 Kosovo Thank You's coopeiation with the Flying foi
Kosovol6campaign and ongoing photo collection of Kosovo's flag in each of the countnes that lecognizes hei This cieates an entnely new powei balance between content leceiveis and content pioduceis, and also sepaiates public action fiom the necessaiy leadeiship of a powei figuie of the tiaditional sense It allows foi a cntique of Kosovo, Albania and cieates a new kind of public piofile foi
"Kosovarness" - the discouise of Kosovo has been dictated by international mteiventiomsts and anti inteiventionists and Kosovai wnteis and thmkeis, both discouises which oveilap and reflect existing stiearns of thought in Kosovo Kosovo Thanks You, Kosovo 2 0 and New Kosova Report pi ovide a face of Kosovo to outsideis and Kosovais, theieby shaping the public lmagmaiy in Andeison's sense
The Kosovo piesented in these sites piovides a vision of Kosovo looted in the past, but not deteimined by it It cieates communities that aie ethnocentnc but also piovides space foi non
Albanians to engage thiough a common language and common inteiests Kosovo 2 0 featuies posts fiom Albanians, Seibs, Gieeks, Westemeis and non-Westemeis - each post is tianslated in thiee languages The site heavily uses social media along the lines of Facebook, Twittei, Fhcki and Vimeo - the format includes blogs, vlogs, music playlists and magazine articles - it is accessible to anyone who speaks English or eithei one of Kosovo's official languages It is rooted in Kosovo, and most of its visitors are fiom Kosovo - and even though the majority of the discussion focuses on Albanian issues within Kosovo, the voices and responses of others are welcomed and encouraged There is a recognition that the state of "Kosovarness" has parallels with the experience of being a Chilean m Chile oi a Macedonian in Macedonia, without denying the shaied histoncal trajectory of Albanians in
Albania and Albanians in Kosovo
15 http //www tedxpnshtina com/ 16 http //www flymgforkosovo com/ 96 When understood as a continuum of the public sphere, the internet as a medium plays a role in identity formation in terms of the national. Anderson (1991) provides the theoretical framework for understanding how mediums which have the ability to create an imagined public sphere contribute directly to the formation of national consciousness. Anderson's Imagined Communities makes the case that print languages created "unified fields of exchange" which made individuals aware of the other members of their nation group - this connection via print created the idea of the nation as such, it was one of the crucial factors which allowed for the visualization of a community bound together by a common language and territory (p.44).
The limitations of the print medium in Kosovo are outlined in chapter two. and I would here like to propose how a different medium creates a different sort of imagined national community.
Drache's Defiant Publics defines a new kind of citizen, with a correlating different relationship to the concept of the nation. Drache states that this new citizen is a global trend, part of "defiant publics" who
"want to reclaim their voices and assert their ideas in the public domain." Like Anderson, Drache states that these publics are party to an imagined community. They make their presence felt through "texts, debates and discursive communities". This is a public which engages in activism and civic action at the micro-scale, via community building and awareness building (Drache, 2008, p. 17).
The internet allows for the creation of a counterpublic which can give voice to critical and anti- conformist thoughts - these are groups which can potentially affect public opinion and exert pressure via political discourse (Drache, 2008, p. 117). Drache provides a definition of effective counterpublics, and places counterpublics on a compass of "dissent". The effectiveness of counterpublics is measured by their ability to encourage emotion and action on an issue consistently. They are characterized by an ability to manage "weak" ties and can serve as a bridge for like-minded movements and organizations.
97 Counteipublics by their nature "oppose arbitrary state action" and seek to "reinstate the procedural fairness that they perceive to be lacking in modem democratic societies" (p. 122). Fluidity of ideology is a positive effect of this public-formation, for it allows for solidarity across the divisions of age, gender, class and culture (p.123). Kosovo 2.0, New Kosova Report and Kosovo Thanks You share elements of counteipublics as defined by Drache. All three sites hyperlink and provide a platform for similar movements and organizations. Kosovo 2.0 and New Kosova Report serves as a vehicle for political discourse, Kosovo 2.0 through timely responses to important political and social developments in Kosovo and the Balkans, and New Kosova Report by substantive reporting in politics, society and economics. Kosovo Thanks You provides a clear and consistent message for the cause of Kosovo, and encourages both emotional identification with the cause and action in the form of performative acts such as sending photographs of supporters of independence with Kosovo's flag at the national landmarks of countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence.
All three websites fit neatly into Drache's subcategory of counterpublics titled "skeptics".
Skeptics are the largest dissenting group according to Drache, and consistently question governmental decisions, mainstream politics and the state of public values. They don't pledge allegiance to any political party or politician, nor to any social movement or popular progressive organizations. Skeptics tend to be "young, well-educated, or self-taught Internet users skilled in digging for the truth." (p.123).
This is certainly the case, as none of the site founders are thirty years old. They do not believe in or replicate the official discourse of governmental bodies or international institutions, and seek evidence- based answers to their questions. The actions of skeptics are usually "under the radar" in the sense that they are not public figures, even though they have the ability make their presence felt through public opinion. They serve as creators of a discourse which challenges conformity and the disassociation of
98 the citizen from public affairs, as well as a link to a broader, global culture of dissent. The presence of a
"skeptic" discourse in this sense regenerates and redefines the concept of the "public" as one in which citizens are in dialogue with one another, as opposed to one in which citizens are "spoken to" via one way mediums. The difference between the individuals in these publics and political activists in the traditional sense, likes in the self-styled and fluid nature of identity formation (p. 129). The self-styled and fluid nature of this kind of political action allows for a decentralization of power and ideas. This decentralization is enabled by the current logic of technologies of communication - networked structures of communication will invariably create networked social ties and networked publics - a seismic shift from the comparably one-directional nature of television, print and radio. This allows for community formation across the boundaries of language and borders - especially important to initiatives such as Kosovo 2.0, New Kosova Report and Kosovo Thanks You, which seek to communicate with like-minded individuals and organizations globally, as well as present a fresh face for Kosovo to outsiders.
Drache argues that the Intemet has created conditions for the birth of the "global citizen", in the same way that print created conditions for the birth of the national citizen. In the case of Kosovo, it is accurate to state that a combination of both is taking place. The concept of the citizen is being reformulated to allow for critique and qualitative discussion of public affairs and politics, while meaningful connections to the global are taking place through dialogue and recognition of "global" causes and issues. This reformulation of what it means to be a citizen of a nation in a globalized world is discursively important, for as Inglehart (2003) states: "Since the collapse of Communism, democracy has attained a positive image in virtually every country in the world. But these favorable opinions are often superficial, and unless they are accompanied by more deeply rooted tolerance, trust, and
99 participation, the chances aic pooi that effective demociacy will be piesent at the societal level" (p 62)
The discouise of the thiee case studies mentioned here cieate conditions foi the establishment of a discouise which values tolciancc (of diffcnng political viewpoints, ethnicity, gcndei), tiust (between
Kosovo s communities and the citizens of Kosovo and hei neighbouis) and participation (thiough the netwoiked and open natuie of these sites) Inglehart lecognizes the need foi a specific kind of political cultuie and public expiession as a pieiequisites foi "effective"' demociacy Conditions of trust and self-expiession ate mdicatois foi meaningful demociacy, and aie enabled thiough a public spheie which embodies those qualities The individual's access to self expiession in an enviionment of tiust and toleiancc aggiegates at the national level into a substantive and poweiful public spheie and effective political cultuie
The tiauma of Kosovo s histoiy m Yugoslavia cannot be undone thiough an acceptance of a shaied sense of Kosovai ness The concept of the Kosovai as an ethnicity 01 a nation in and of itself is foi the most part a Western sentiment, piomoted by the international community in the post- independence penod to discouiage Albanian Kosovars fiom joining Albania propei - and to leassuie
Serbs and other communities that Kosovo would be a state for all peoples, not just the Albanian majority However, the division between Kosovo's Albanian and Seibian communities are looted in yeais of distrust and is heavily determined by Serbia's position to the independence of Kosovo These are both issues which can only be solved with time and the increased acceptance of Kosovo as an independent state A moie realistic conception of Kosovo and Kosovars at this point is one which emphasizes civic duty and the responsibilities and privileges associated with citizenship - not a
"Kosovar" ethnicity 01 an imagined shared histoiy This requires Kosovo's Serbian community to accept the independence of Kosovo and the authority of the government of Kosovo, as well as greater inclusion of Kosovo's Serbs into Kosovo's public discourse by the Albanian majority. Inglehart's tiust and tolerance can begin to emeige from this compromise, and can be facilitated through mediums which allow for open discussion and critical thought. It will require time, patience and good will.
Trust and tolerance in this sense compliments the Western European conception of the "citizen", but does not require the formulation of a new ethnic identity or the dissolution of old identities which have persisted across time and continue to provide a compass of identity and values. It requires dialogue and engagement - not only about the past and inter-ethnic relations, but also about the social and political issues facing all Kosovars m the present. A public sphere reactive to and skeptical of decisions made on its behalf is one of the most powerful tools at Kosovais' disposal in the project of demociacy-buildmg It can encompass the national, transnational and global scale of affairs, without denying or ignoring the intrinsic value of one's own national identity. It can counteract the accusation that Kosovais aie apathetic, non-iesponsive 01 not paying attention. The online lealm can provide conditions for full expression of Kosovars' thoughts and feelings about issues of public concern, and a fertile ground for an imagined community of citizenship to take hold.
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