‘Schatzi’: making meaning of diaspora

Diasporas have been widely studied since the late 1980s, especially focusing on identity, reception and integration in host societies. However, research exploring the relationship of diasporas with their homelands and, in particular, how homelands view and think about their diasporas is still developing. This article explores the discursive construction and representation of the Kosovo Albanian Diaspora by homeland Kosovo Albanians by critically engaging with responses to thirteen semi-structured interviews with Kosovan Albanians in Kosovo. The discourse of the ‘Schatzi’ is examined as a stereotype employed in narratives about diasporic Kosovo Albanian identity in relation to the homeland. The article demonstrates that dominant discourses of ‘othering’ surrounding migration, identity, cultural difference and national narratives of belonging and exclusion are not exclusive to host country contexts – suggesting that we must explore outside the normative paradigms of studying diaspora within host societies