Social Identities, Citizenship, and State-building : A case study of Kosovo

This paper studies the importance of acknowledging social identities in a state-building process. Kosovo is a disputed area in which several ethnic groups reside. These groups obtain extensive rights within the legal framework of the Republic of Kosovo. Although these rights are extensive and, according to some, the best laws regarding minorities in Europe there are those who do not feel an attachment to the state. Historically states have been based on single-groups in so called nation-states in which the mainstream identity of the population were synonymous with that of the state. Today the view on the state has evolved into that of a multi-cultural society in which everyone are accepted regardless of their identity (i.e. sex, ethnicity, gender and so on). The conflict of Kosovo has its base in the Albanian population within Kosovo and their struggle for recognition as a people. Their struggle throughout the 20th century culminated with the complete removal of rights by Slobodan Milošević in 1989 and the formation of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1993. By the end of the 20th century NATO intervened in the conflict resulting in the adaptation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in which the future of Kosovo where determined. After being administrated by the international UN mission (UNMIK) for almost 9 years Kosovo declared its independence. Kosovo were to be a multi-ethnic state constituted of its many communities (ethnic-groups). Today there are few people who uses the term 'Kosovar', instead people still identify themselves by their ethnic-identity. This paper studies the importance of social identities and if the citizenship of Kosovo can fill the position as an overlapping identity bringing the ethnic-groups of Kosovo together. Although the conclusion is that the citizenship cannot fill this position today the study identifies several issues that, when resolved, severely increases the possibility for the Kosovo citizenship to fulfill this position