Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen. MSc Human Geography, specialisation: Conflicts, Territories and Identities. Supervised by Dr. O.T. Kramsch. Trading with the enemy in Mitrovica, Kosovo. The Kantian Peace Paradigm extended to ethnic groups. (Mitrovica, from the main bridge over the river Ibar) Dieter Schalk (0159468) [email protected] Nijmegen, 5th November 2009 0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis and fieldwork would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. First, thanks go to my supervisor, dr. Olivier T. Kramsch for his guidance through each of the phases of this thesis and research. Second, a huge thanks are in order for the NGO Spark, as their support and facilitation were a great help. Working at Spark as an intern was an unforgettable experience and provided me with invaluable learning opportunities. Even after my internship ended I was provided with space in their Pristina and Mitrovica offices as well as guidance on my research topic and help with acquiring contacts. A special thanks go to Yannick du Pont, Olivera Markovic, Milos Subotic and Elizabeth Heath for their continued help and assistance. I would also like to thank Klemen Miklavic for our lengthy discussions on my research topic which always led to interesting new insights. Many thanks go to all the people that made time to talk to me or were interviewed by me for this research. All their contributions offered a deeper understanding of my research topic and helped shape my thesis into its final form. I especially thank the traders who agreed to talk to me despite their difficult position. Finally, a huge thanks goes to my family and close friends for their continued support during this long process. NOTES Albanian and Serbian are both official languages in Kosovo and they both have their own spelling for most names, including cities. For example, the city known in English as Mitrovica is generally called "Mitrovicë" in Albanian and "Kosovska Mitrovica" in Serbian. Because of practical reasons and because this thesis is written in English I will use the names which are most commonly used in English. If an English version of the name does not exist I will name both the Albanian as well as the Serbian name. This thesis is about trade between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs in Mitrovica, Kosovo. These will simply be referred to as Albanians and Serbs during most of this thesis. When referring to Albanians and Serbs outside of Kosovo this will be explicitly noted. In some occasions it will be stressed that the Albanians or Serbs I'm referring to are from Kosovo in order to avoid confusion. The political institutions of the Albanian majority in Kosovo declared Kosovo to be independent from Serbia on the 17th of February 2008. This thesis is neutral on the subject of independence, and therefore it will be left open to anyone's interpretation if "Kosovo" is referring to an independent state or a province of Serbia. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................. 1 NOTES................................................................................................................................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Research Purpose - Topic / thesis question.................................................................................. 6 1.2. Problem Formation....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3. Research Relevance...................................................................................................................... 7 1.4. Thesis organisation - Short outline of research............................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2: METHODS.......................................................................................................... 9 2.1. Used methods – the Extended Case Method ............................................................................... 9 2.2. How the research was conducted and data analysis................................................................... 11 2.3. Practical limitations and considerations..................................................................................... 14 2.4. Ethical considerations................................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................. 18 3.1. The Kantian Peace...................................................................................................................... 18 3.2. The war economy. ...................................................................................................................... 21 3.3. Fitting Mitrovica into this theoretical framework. .................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 4: CONTEXT......................................................................................................... 25 4.1 Recent history of Kosovo's inter-ethnic conflict. ....................................................................... 25 4.2 Current economical and geopolitical situation. .......................................................................... 37 4.3 Mitrovica..................................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS, part 1. ............................................................................................ 52 The context in which inter-ethnic relations and trade are happening in Mitrovica. 5.1 Current inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo and Mitrovica............................................................. 52 5.2 Foreign intervention and a wish for reconciliation by the international community.................. 56 5.3 A failing economy makes peace more difficult. ......................................................................... 58 5.4 Opposite politics striving for either integration or disintegration. ............................................. 59 5.5 The rules of the inter-ethnic game. ............................................................................................. 65 5.6. How this context shapes and limits inter-ethnic trade. .............................................................. 66 CHAPTER 6: RESULTS, part 2. ............................................................................................ 68 Views on the effects of inter-ethnic trade by experts in Kosovo. 6.1. Money and self-interest.............................................................................................................. 68 6.2 The traders. ................................................................................................................................. 70 6.3 .Opinions of people not directly involved in trade...................................................................... 73 6.4. What the international community can do. ................................................................................ 74 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 77 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................ 84 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The topic of this thesis and its research is trade between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs in Mitrovica, Kosovo. This thesis researches if the trade aspect of the Kantian Peace Paradigm - which holds that higher levels of trade between states lower the chances of (armed) conflict - can also be applied to ethnic groups. During the 1990's tensions between Albanians and Serbs living in the (then) Serbian province of Kosovo grew and eventually escalated into an armed conflict. The conflict was ended in 1999 but tensions between Albanians and Serbs remain high. There is still an almost complete lack of contact between the two ethnic groups, despite the International Community's best efforts to improve relations during the past 10 years. In Mitrovica, a city located in the north of Kosovo inter-ethnic relations are the worst as it's the only place in Kosovo where ethnically motivated violent incidents are still common. The city is divided by a river, with the Albanian population living to the south of this river and the Serbian population living north of it. In this divided city there is virtually only one sector in which inter-ethnic contact takes place: trade. This thesis examines if this inter-ethnic trade can contribute to better relations between Albanians and Serbs living in Kosovo. The philosophy behind this thesis is very similar to that of the Kantian Peace Paradigm, which holds that trade creates connections and interdependence and this in turn reduces the chances of conflict. Although plenty of evidence has been gathered the past decades in favour of the Kantian Peace, the theory has always and only been applied to states. I will argue in this thesis that - as interstate conflicts are decreasing and intrastate conflicts are on the rise - it is time to move the Kantian Peace theory out of its