Turkey's Influence in Kosovo and Albania since 2006

Kosovo and Albania have developed relations with Turkey for many centuries, due to a shared history. These relations took another dimension in the 21st century with the entrance of President Erdogan into the political scene of Turkey. Personal relations were developing between the leader of Turkey with leaders in Kosovo and Albania. Moreover, in the field of economy, they have reached many agreements that impact the markets of Turkey, Albania and Kosovo. The shared past concluded to major similarities in culture between the countries. Due to Muslim societies, Turkey has also been utilizing religion as a tool to project soft power in Albania and Kosovo. In this study we take a closer look at Turkish influence in Albania and Kosovo in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. The study was conducted on a mixed methodology where ten semi-structured interviews with experts, professors and politicians were developed (five per each country) and a survey to include citizens' perceptions on the topic (867 persons responded to the survey, around 51% of respondents from Kosovo and 49% from Albania). This study concluded that Turkey's influence in Kosovo and Albania is not negative, except for rare cases of penetration in internal politics. Cultural similarities are seen to contribute to trade between..