Aasmund Andersen TRANSFORMING ETHNIC NATIONALISM - The politics of ethno-nationalistic sentiments among the elite in Kosovo June 2002 For the partial fulfilment of the Cand. Polit. Degree at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo Published on http://www.aasmundandersen.net Typeset in 12 pt Pallantino Linotype 24 pt line spacing 2 cm margins Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................5 1. STATES, NATIONS AND NATIONALISM ..................................................................................................8 WHEN IS A NATION? ...........................................................................................................................................10 ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC NATIONALISM..............................................................................................................17 MULTI-CULTURALISM AND CIVIC NATIONALISM ...............................................................................................24 INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION AND THE PROBLEM OF INTERIM GOVERNMENTS...............................................31 2. METHODOLOGY AND FOCUS OF ENQUIRY ........................................................................................36 PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION ..............................................................................................................................37 RESEARCH IN CONFLICT SOCIETIES ....................................................................................................................39 EVENTS ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................................40 3. KOSOVO BETWEEN MYTH AND REALITY...........................................................................................45 KOSOVO IN THE PERIPHERY OF EMPIRES .............................................................................................................46 ALBANIAN ETHNIC IDENTITY IN KOSOVO ..........................................................................................................58 ON THE BOUNDARIES OF THE ALBANIAN ETHNIC CATEGORY ............................................................................68 WHAT NOW? ......................................................................................................................................................79 4. CULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION AND HIGH CULTURE......................................................................83 HIGH CULTURE AND VERTICAL INTEGRATION ...................................................................................................85 THE NEW HIGH CULTURE...................................................................................................................................89 THE DISPLAY OF HIGH CULTURE........................................................................................................................94 5. THE INTELLECTUAL ELITE – MAINTAINING THE GRAND STORY .............................................98 INSTITUTIONAL PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE...................................................................................................99 THE GRAND STORY PRESENTATION .................................................................................................................108 6. THE POLITICAL ELITE – ENACTING GRAND STORY REPRESENTATION...............................111 LEADERSHIP IN POLITICAL PARTIES – THE ENACTMENT OF POLITICS ................................................................112 PUBLIC CEREMONIES ........................................................................................................................................115 THE POLITICAL USAGE OF ETHNO-NATIONALISTIC SYMBOLS AND MYTHS.........................................................127 RHETORIC AND LANGUAGE GAMES..................................................................................................................144 ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRATISATION................................................................................................................146 7. THE INTERNATIONAL ELITE – THE CULTURE OF FOREIGN MASTERS AND EXPERTS.....149 TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS .....................................................................................................149 BEING AN ‘INTERNATIONAL’ ............................................................................................................................152 ‘HIERARCHALISATION’ OF NATIONS ................................................................................................................158 THE DIPLOMATIC ELITE.....................................................................................................................................160 USAGE OF SYMBOLS .........................................................................................................................................162 PERCEPTIONS OF ‘LOCALS’ ...............................................................................................................................163 THE INTERNATIONAL ELITE AND THE NEW HIGH CULTURE..............................................................................165 8. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERRITORIAL IDENTITY AND CIVIC NATIONALISM ....................167 DEVELOPMENT OF TERRITORIAL IDENTITY .......................................................................................................168 THE POTENTIAL OF THE ‘KOSOVAR’ IDENTITY .................................................................................................171 TRANSFORMING ETHNIC NATIONALISM ...........................................................................................................178 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................179 BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................................................182 ANNEX 1 ............................................................................................................................................................187 - 2 - Foreword The efforts of the international community in Kosovo are huge. There is, however, almost no scientific research undertaken by international professional academics looking at the effect of this engagement on culture and society. This is for me disappointing, as I believe the social sciences seldom have bigger potential impact on decision-making, as well as to provide international staff operating in the field, approximately 50.000 of them as of 2001, analysis and understanding of the complex setting in the context of international intervention, institution building, democratisation, implementation of self-government, and the difficult issues of reconciliation. I use the opportunity therefore, to urge international academic milieus to use Kosovo as a laboratory for studies on nationalism, nation-state, ethnicity and international intervention. This study is merely a beginning in this respect, and I hope to encourage other studies to continue the investigation. The aim of this thesis is to provide an analysis of how the elite in Kosovo maintain and transform ethno-nationalistic sentiments in a society in transition not only from a socialist one-party political system to democracy, but also from conflict to reconciliation. The methods used in this thesis are based upon the scientific discipline of modern Social Anthropology, where ethnographic description through the method of participant observation is fundamental. The field research carried out in order to collect and create data1 for the thesis took place mainly in Pristina from September to December 2000, and April to December 2001. Because of its perspective and descriptive methods, I feel it is necessary here to warn about misuse of the content of the thesis. The political culture that is here described as nationalistic is not an Albanian phenomenon, but is part of a regional culture of politics found in South- East Europe and Europe in general; this analysis provides an understanding of this culture merely by using the Kosovo-Albanian elite as a case. The mobilisation of ethno-nationalistic sentiments in the region must be seen as inter-connected and in the perspective of mutual mobilisation in opposition to ‘the other’ - in the case of Kosovo-Albanians, in the opposition against Serbian nationalism. Any usage of the content of this thesis to undermine this fact and to credit or discredit one particular ethnic group is against the will and intention of the author and will be met accordingly. 1 It is problematic, I believe, to see the anthropologist as only collecting scientific data; data that is already out there somewhere, and not also taking part in creating them. We must acknowledge that some data, at least, are the result of a creative process, in which the Anthropologist as a person, is actively involved in creating the data. Therefore, the personal background of the Anthropologist is not entirely irrelevant for the analysis, alongside theoretical orientation. - 3 - I whish to thank all those in Kosovo that met me with openness and hospitality, and in particular the National and University Library, Insitute of Albanology, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation