Civil resistance in Kosovo / Howard Clark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clark, Howard, 1950-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Albanians--Yugoslavia--Kosovo (Serbia)--History.

Albanians.

Passive resistance--Yugoslavia--Kosovo (Serbia).

Passive resistance.

History.

Yugoslavia.

Kosovo (Republic)--History--1980-.

Kosovo (Republic).

Kosovo (Republic)--History--Civil War, 1998-.

Physical Description:

xx, 266 pages : maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, Va. : Pluto Press, 2000.

Summary:

The world woke up to the conflict between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians too late -- when the die was cast for war in 1998-99. Until then, the self-restraint and social solidarity of Kosovo Albanians in the face of Serbian ultra-nationalism created opportunities for preventive action which the West had spurned. Ultimately, however, the nonviolent policy of Kosovo Albanians succeeded only in postponing war, not in averting it.

In Civil Resistance in Kosovo, Howard Clark examines how a remarkable nonviolent struggle by Kosovo Albanians frustrated Serbia's plans for Kosovo. Covering key features of the struggle, such as the miners' strike of 1989, the Campaign to Reconcile Blood Feuds, and the creation of parallel structures in education, medical care and taxation, Clark describes the growth and potential of the movement, its subsequent stagnation and attempts to reinvigorate it. In assessing the achievements and limitations of nonviolence in Kosovo, Clark suggests how the policy could have been more effective and draws lesson for consideration in future peace-building. Clark also addresses the failure of foreign governments. International diplomacy, he argues, took Kosovo Albanian nonviolence for granted. It did not respond adequately to the danger of war and failed to adopt preventative policies and deal justly with the Kosovo Albanians. Consequently Kosovo Albanians turned to arms, precipitating Serbian aggression and Nato military intervention. Clark reflects on the significance of the Kosovo tragedy for other civil resistance movements around the world.

Contents:

1 When a dam breaks 7

The demographic battlefield: 1912-66 8

After the fall of Rankovic 12

The rising swell of nationalism 15

Milosevic mobilises 18

Lazar's curse: 'Whoever does not fight at Kosovo' 20

2 The Albanians in Kosovo 24

The Ottoman Empire 24

The First World War and the First Yugoslavia 26

The Second World War 29

A resistant culture 31

Tito's Yugoslavia 37

Everything but a republic 39

1981 and afterwards 41

An afterword on Communism in Kosovo 45

3 The turn to nonviolence 46

Miners defend autonomy 46

The Party crumbles 52

Organisation and pluralism 54

The Campaign to Reconcile Blood Feuds 60

Military realism 64

Nonviolence in Kosovo Albanian identity 66

4 Two sovereignties 70

A Serbian recipe for Albanian 'separatism' 71

Wholesale dismissals 74

Police and paramilitary 77

The contest for legitimacy 80

The electoral boycott 84

International support 89

Independence: a 'maximalist' goal? 92

5 Parallel structures 95

Schools in struggle 96

Open but illegal 99

The University of Prishtina 100

Funding education 102

The lesson taught 104

Medical care 106

The media 108

Arts and sport 111

Economic survival 112

Politics 'as if' 115

A state-in-embryo 117

6 Pointers for an alternative strategy 122

The Dayton effect 122

A framework for 'active nonviolence' 128

A strategy of empowerment 131

Altering Serbian will 138

Empowerment: women 145

Empowerment: youth 149

The student movement of 1997-98 151

7 When the world takes notice 158

Principles and interests 158

In the absence of a peace process 163

International solidarity takes time 168

International support for peacebuilding 169

The crisis erupts 172

OSCE

too little, too late 178

NATO bombs for credibility 181

8 Reflections on civil resistance 186

The balance sheet on civil resistance: the Kosovo perspective 186

The balance sheet on civil resistance: the international debate 189

Victim behaviour and nonviolence 193

Leader syndromes 198

Goals and transitions 203

Civil resistance and conflict resolution 206

Early warning, civil resistance and small nations 210.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-261) and index.

ISBN:

0745315747

0745315690

OCLC:

43540088