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People
Origins: Cultural Legacy
Historians suggest that the earliest known inhabitants of Kosovo were the Illyrians. While ethnic Albanians of contemporary Kosovo identify themselves as direct descendants of the Illyrians, Serbian scholars have suggested that claim that Albanians emerged in Kosovo in the Middle Ages as a result of unions between Illyrians and Dardanians from Thrace.
The area was conquered by Alexander the Great in 300 B.C.E. (before the common era) and was subsumed as part of the Roman interests in the 4th century C.E. Slavs moved into the region in the 6th century after crossing the Danube. This movement shifted the Illyrian-speaking population landscape as inhabitants (regarded by some as Albanians) traversed eastward from the Adriatic into present-day Kosovo. Meanwhile, the Slavs migrating across the Danube sub-divided into Serbs, Slovenes, and Croats.
In the 12th century, Kosovo became the governmental and cultural nexus of a medieval Serbian state, which was headed by the Nemanjic Dynasty. This situation lasted two centuries and, as such, among Serbs, Kosovo came to be known as "Old Serbia." Kosovo, however, was soon to become part of the Ottoman Empire.
As discussed above under "Serbia," the battle of Kosovo Polje, in which the Serbs put forth a valiant effort against the Ottoman Turks, has been emblazoned in Serbian national consciouness. But at the same time, Kosovo has also been the center of society and culture for Albanians of the area. Indeed, ethnic Albanians began returning to the area in the 15th century. Over time, they converted to Islam and the Islamization of the Kosovo Albanians commenced. Serbian conversion to Islam was far more limited by comparison, as a result of the strength of the Orthodox Church. Losses in battles against the Turks resulted in Serbs moving out of the area of Kosovo and northward to Belgrade. This movement has come to be known as "the great migration." Consequently, Kosovo became underpopulated and was eventually re-inhabited by ethnic Albanians from the eastern hills of Albania.
It was not until 1912 that Kosovo was ceded to Serbia by the Turks in the Balkan Wars, becoming part of what would be known as Yugoslavia. Then, in 1974, then-Yugoslav President Tito established a new constitution in which the autonomous nature of Kosovo was recognized, conveying similar rights as had been bestowed on the six republics of Yugoslavia -- Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia.
In the late 1980s, Slobodan Milosevic began his campaign to take control of the former Yugoslavia and eventually take away the autonomy that Kosovars (most of whom were ethnic Albanians) had enjoyed under the long-time ruler of Yugoslavia, Tito. This action, in tandem with rising Serbian nationalism, eventually led to the Bosnian War and the break-up of Yugoslavia. While Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia gained independence, the Kosovo issue was not explicitly addressed in the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian War and provided for the transition to peaceful governance. Instead, the Kosovo province was treated as part of Serbia in the new successor state -- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
Instability in Kosovo threatened the entire region. This threat seemed more apparent when the Albanian government in Tirana announced that it would act as a unitary Albanian nation if Serbia were to take offensive action in Kosovo. A number of raids, protests, gun battles, and terrorist acts, including the shooting down of a Yugoslav Airlines training aircraft, occurred from 1996 to 1998. While ethnic Albanians had historically sought greater autonomy from Serbia by peaceful actions, attacks from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) led to severe reprisals from the Serbian-led Yugoslav army and police forces. The severity and indiscriminate nature of the Yugoslav counterattacks led to a mass refugee crisis of tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanians in the summer of 1998. Then, a massacre of Kosovo's civilians by Serbian forces in January 1999 led to the threat of air strikes by NATO. Negotiations aimed at preventing military attacks were not ultimately successful and on March 24, 1999, NATO began a bombing campaign (Operation Allied Force) against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia due to its actions in Kosovo. NATO suspended air strikes on June 10, 1999, after the Yugoslav leaders accepted the terms of the Military Technical Agreement and Serbian troops began withdrawing from Kosovo. The demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and other armed Kosovo Albanian group followed as well. A formal peace settlement was soon reached under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and an international civil and security presence was deployed under United Nations' auspices. Within Serbia, Kosovo has been regarded as an intrinsic aspect of Serbian identity, legacy and territorial integrity. But among Kosovars, the thrust for sovereign independent status has been at the forefront of the national consciousness throughout the years since the establishment of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.
Contemporary Cultural Demography
The total population for Kosovo is estimated to be 2.2 million. Ethnic Albanians make up the vast majority of the population, although there is a notable ethnic Serbian minority. As well, there are Bosnials, Gorans, Roma, Turks and others who make up the people of Kosovo.
Islam is the predominant religion, as practiced by the majority ethnic Albanian population. However, there are Muslims within the Bosniak, Goran, Turkish and Roma communities as well. Orthodox Christianity is claimed by most ethnic Serbians. There are also some Roman Catholics and Protestants within the Christian population. That said, religion is not a dominating force of life in Kosovo.
Serbian and Albanian are the main languages spoken in Kosovo. Turkish, Gorani, Romani and Bosnian are also spoken languages in Kosovo.
Human Development
The literacy rate in Kosovo is 91.9 percent and about 4.3 percent of GDP is spent in the country on educational expenditures. Poverty, as well as a legacy of ethnic cleansing and political violence, have constituted recent life in Kosovo. As such, human development is low relative to other European countries.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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