Historical Politics of Kosovo
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19th Century
19th century data about the population of Kosovo tend to be rather conflicting, giving sometimes numerical superiority to the Serbs and sometimes to the Albanians. The Ottoman statistics are regarded as unreliable, as the empire counted its citizens by religion rather than nationality, using birth records rather than surveys of individuals.
Map published by French ethnographer G. Lejean in 1861 shows that Albanians lived on around 57% Kosovo while a similar map, published by British travellers G. M. Mackenzie and A. P. Irby in 1867 shows slightly less; these maps don't show which population was larger overall. Nevethless, maps cannot be used to measure population as they leave out density.
Modern Serbian sources estimated that around 400,000 Serbs were cleansed out of the Vilayet of Kosovo between 1876 and 1912.
Maps published by German historian Kiepert in 1876, J. Hahn and Austrian consul K. Sax, show that Albanians live on most of the territory of what is now Kosovo, however they don't show which population is larger. According to these, the regions of Kosovska Mitrovica and Kosovo Polje were settled mostly by Serbs, whereas most of the territory of western and eastern parts of today's province was settled by Muslim Albanians.
An Austrian statistics published in 1899 estimated:
During and after the Serbian–Ottoman War of 1876–78, between 30,000 and 70,000 Muslims, mostly Albanians, were expelled by the Serb army from the Sanjak of Ni? (located north-east of contemporary Kosovo) and fled to the Kosovo Vilayet. Serbs from the Lab region moved to Serbia during and after the war of 1876 and incoming Albanian refugees (muhaxhirë) repopulated their villages. Apart from the Lab region, sizeable numbers of Albanian refugees were resettled in other parts of northern Kosovo alongside the new Ottoman-Serbian border. Most Albanian refugees were resettled in over 30 large rural settlements in central and southeastern Kosovo. Many refugees were also spread out and resettled in urban centers that increased their populations substantially. Western diplomats reporting in 1878 placed the number of refugee families at 60,000 families in Macedonia, with 60-70,000 refugees from Serbia spread out within the vilayet of Kosovo. The Ottoman governor of the Vilayet of Kosovo estimated in 1881 the refugees number to be around 65,000 with some resettled in the Sanjaks of Üsküp and Yeni Pazar.
In the late Ottoman period, Kosovo vilayet contained a diverse population of Muslim Albanians and Orthodox Serbs that was split along religious and ethnic lines.
Muslim Albanians formed the majority of the population in Kosovo vilayet that included an important part of the urban-professional and landowning classes of major towns. Western Kosovo was composed of 50,000 inhabitants and an area dominated by the Albanian tribal system with 600 Albanians dying per year from blood feuding. The Yakova (Gjakovë) highlands contained 8 tribes that were mainly Muslim and in the Luma area near Prizren there were 5 tribes, mostly Muslim. The population of the tribal areas were composed of Kosovar Malisors (highlanders).The town of Ipek had crypto-Christians who were of the Catholic faith.
Muslim Bosniaks whose native language was Slavic formed a sizable number of Kosovo vilayet's population and were concentrated mainly in Yenipazar sanjak. Circassian refugees who came from Russia were resettled by Ottoman authorities within Kosovo vilayet in 1864, numbering some 6,000 people by the 1890s.
In the northern half of Kosovo vilayet Orthodox Serbs were the largest Christian group and formed a majority within the eastern areas. Several thousand Aromanians inhabited Kosovo vilayet. Bulgarians lived in the southern half of Kosovo vilayet.
Ottoman provincial records for 1887 estimated that Albanians formed more than half of Kosovo vilayet's population concentrated in the sanjaks of Ipek, Prizren and Pristine. In the sanjaks of Yenipazar, Taslica and Üsküp, Albanians formed a smaller proportion of the population.
Kosovo Vilayet (1877-1913)
The creation of Yugoslavia and the influence of Josip Broz Tito in Kosovo (1918-1980)
Yugoslavia was a country in Southeastern and Central Europe for most of the 20th century. It came into existence after World War I in 1918 under the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (it was formed from territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire) with the Kingdom of Serbia, and constituted the first union of the South Slavic people as a sovereign state, following centuries in which the region had been part of the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Peter I of Serbia was its first sovereign. The kingdom gained international recognition on 13 July 1922 at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris. The official name of the state was changed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3 October 1929. Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941. In 1943, a Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed by the Partisan resistance. In 1944 King Peter II, then living in exile, recognised it as the legitimate government. The monarchy was subsequently abolished in November 1945. Yugoslavia was renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. It acquired the territories of Istria, Rijeka, and Zadar from Italy. Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito ruled the country as president until his death in 1980. In 1963, the country was renamed again, as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
On 11 November 1945 elections were held with only the Communist-led National Front appearing on the ballot, securing all 354 seats. On 29 November, while still in exile, King Peter II was deposed by Yugoslavia's Constituent Assembly, and the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was declared. However, he refused to abdicate. Marshal Tito was now in full control, and all opposition elements were eliminated.
On 31 January 1946, the new constitution of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, modeled after the Soviet Union, established six republics, an autonomous province, and an autonomous district that were part of SR Serbia. The federal capital was Belgrade. The policy focused on a strong central government under the control of the Communist Party, and on recognition of the multiple nationalities. The flags of the republics used versions of the red flag or Slavic tricolor, with a red star in the center or in the canton.
| Name | Capital | Flag | |
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Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Socialist Republic of Croatia Socialist Republic of Macedonia Socialist Republic of Montenegro Socialist Republic of Serbia Socialist Republic of Slovenia | Sarajevo Zagreb Skopje Titograd Belgrade Prishtina Novi Sad Ljubljana |
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Tito's regional goal was to expand south and take control of Albania and parts of Greece. In 1947, negotiations between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria led to the Bled agreement, which proposed to form a close relationship between the two Communist countries, and enable Yugoslavia to start a civil war in Greece and use Albania and Bulgaria as bases. Stalin vetoed this agreement and it was never realized. The break between Belgrade and Moscow was now imminent. Yugoslavia solved the national issue of nations and nationalities (national minorities) in a way that all nations and nationalities had the same rights. In 1974, the two provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija, as well as the republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, were granted greater autonomy to the point that Albanian and Hungarian became nationally recognized minority languages, and the Serbo-Croat of Bosnia and Montenegro altered to a form based on the speech of the local people and not on the standards of Zagreb and Belgrade. In Slovenia the recognized minorities were Hungarians and Italians. Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija formed a part of the Republic of Serbia but those provinces also formed part of the federation, which led to the unique situation that Central Serbia did not have its own assembly but a joint assembly with its provinces represented in it.
Presidency
On 7 April 1963, the nation changed its official name to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito was named President for life.[¹] In the SFRY, each republic and province had its own constitution, supreme court, parliament, president and prime minister. At the top of the Yugoslav government were the President (Tito), the federal Prime Minister, and the federal Parliament (a collective Presidency was formed after Tito's death in 1980). Also important were the Communist Party general secretaries for each republic and province, and the general secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party.
1. President for life is a title assumed by or granted to some leaders to remove their term limit irrevocably as a way of removing future challenges to their authority and legitimacy. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. |
Slobodan Milosevic
Kosovo Conflict (1998 - 1999)
Even though Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was formed in the early 1990s to fight against the Serbian forces, the first official appearance occurred in Llaushe in 1997, November 28th. In 1997 KLA was acquiring large amount of weaponry from Albania and in early 1998 they attacked the Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo multiple times trying to take control over the Kosovar territory. Unfortunately, these attacks only increased the number of the Serbian paramilitary forces in Kosovo. The Serbian paramilitary forces gave an immediate response killing more than 2000 Kosovar civilians and KLA members. After their response, the situation in Kosovo only got worse with the Yugoslavian authorities trying to oppress the KLA members and the KLA combatants who were trying to free their place and take control over the Kosovar territory. After some time, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) intervened by bombing Yugoslavia from March 24, 1999 and it lasted until an agreement was reached to withdraw the Yugoslav troops from Kosovo on June 10, 1999. After the agreement, a UN peacekeeping mission named United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was established in Kosovo.
The map attached below shows all the places that were bombed during the NATO intervention in Kosovo. |
The origins of the largest political parties in Republic of Kosovo
The largest political party in Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has its origins in the 1990s non-violent resistance movement against Miloševic's rule. The party was led by Ibrahim Rugova until his death in 2006. The two next largest parties have their roots in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA): the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) led by former KLA leader Hashim Thaqi and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) led by former KLA commander Ramush Haradinaj. Kosovo publisher Veton Surroi formed his own political party in 2004 named "Ora." Kosovo Serbs formed the Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija (SLKM) in 2004, but have boycotted Kosovo's institutions and never taken seats in the Kosovo Assembly. |
UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo |
The mandate of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was established by the Security Council in its resolution 1244 (1999). The Mission is mandated to help ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo and advance regional stability in the Western Balkans. The priorities of the Mission remain to promote security, stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo and in the region.
UNMIK 1999-2001
UNMIK 2001- on wards
UNMIK's mission in Kosovo was facing obstacles before and after Kosovo declared independence. The relationship between the two pairs met some challenges along the way which led to Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, to request its withdrawal from Kosovo. Her premise behind this request was that their mission had met the end. Additionally, Kosovo citizens also agreed that its mission was, indeed, complete and that Kosovo will secure its sovereignty and functionality of the state, on its own. Many politicians and intellectuals were supporting this action, however there was backlash. This, mostly coming from serbs, who argued that the serb community in Kosovo will not be protected and represented the same, without UNMIKS's watch. (to be continued)
An international criminal tribunal has been set up to prosecute the victors of the 1999 war in Kosovo. Yes, you read that right. A court has been set up with a mission to investigate and bring to justice those members of the victorious Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) allegedly responsible for heinous human rights violations and atrocities committed against ethnic minorities and political opponents in the region. An outgrowth of specialist chambers set up by Priština last summer, the lumpily named Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution (KRSJI) will be hosted in The Hague. This marks the first time that a special court has been established with the express purpose to prosecute the victors of a war. But can it succeed?
INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO
Kosovo's Parliament declared independence on 17 February, 2008. Some Kosovo Serbs restricted to severance have boycotted the move by declining to pursue orders from the focal government in Pristina and endeavoring to hold onto border posts and infrastructure in Serb-populated districts. There have also been random situations of violence against international institutions and governmental institutions, broadly in Northern Kosovo.
United States and Kosovo Relations
U.S and Kosovo Relations officially became real when United States recognized the Republic of Kosovo as a country, which declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. On February 19th 2008, U.S President George W. Bush said that recognizing Kosovo as a sovereign state would "bring peace to a region scarred by war".
The United States and more than 100 other nations have acknowledged Kosovo as an autonomous, sovereign country since Kosovo's independence in 2008. The US continues to promote a multi-ethnic, democratic Kosovo that is fully incorporated into the international community. This continues a main pillar of American attempts to stabilize the Balkan region and guarantee a powerful and free Europe.
Facilitated dialog talks between the European Union (EU), initiated with U.S. support in 2010, created a fresh paradigm for reconciliation between Kosovo and Serbia. The United States will continue to assist Serbia and Kosovo's attempts to enforce completely the Dialog Agreements and will assist push both sides towards full normalization of relations.
U.S Assistance to Kosovo
U.S. Government aid seeks to assist Kosovo become a stable, democratic and economically feasible nation within Europe, providing all its citizens equal opportunities and protection. U.S. State Department and USAID Foreign Assistance prioritize the complete application of global contracts to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia and work towards the establishment of transparent and responsive government.
Security Alliance
U.S. soldiers continue to engage in the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) to assist preserve a safe and secure atmosphere and free movement for all people of Kosovo. The United States is the 27 contributing countries ' biggest KFOR contributor.
The Iowa National Guard-led bilateral state partnership program, initiated in 2011, was established with the long-term objective of developing and extending alliances with the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), which will assist Kosovo in promoting regional safety and collaboration and add to the US objective of a whole, free and peaceful Europe.
Kosovo-United States Relations