The balkanization of the Balkans: The case of Kosovo

Abstract

The case study of the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo offers some unique elements, but also certain elements which can be extracted and applied to the rest of Yugoslavia, and even to the group of countries which form the Balkan mosaic. An analysis of the conflict reveals several aspects of the crisis in the political and economic model which the country is currently suffering. Despite the initial premises of this model it has not succeeded in «rebalancing» the multi-nation State of Yugoslavia. In a context of power debility, differences of a religious, linguistic and ethnic nature have come to the fore. The conflict has taken on different forms according to the specific interests of the different parties involved. The spatial impact has also varied, as a consequence of the reply given, on each occasion, to the «Albanian question». The solution to the present crisis in the region is not clearly defined, although it would appear to bear a close relation to the measures to be taken for Yugoslavia in general.