Iranian Civil Rights Movement and Independence Movement in Kosovo? European Union’s Role in the Freedom Movements and State-Building

Abstract

Kosovo celebrated its independence in 2008, and many in the Balkans were eager to see finally peace replacing war into the war-torn region. Iranian civil rights movement also shares some interesting features with the Kosovo case. In this paper, we will show how these similarities are being used in Iranian political system. We will investigate the direct correlates between these two cases as well, especially in the case of Diaspora. In the Kosovo case, however, the path to independence has not been as easy and clear as was hoped for in the beginning. Many countries still refuse to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Among them are even some European Union members. In this study, we explain the reasons behind the lengthy and difficult process of independence. We also investigate role of identity crisis and its direct link to the independence path. In fact, ethnic Albanians were expecting a reunion with their historical homeland in Albania and this mismatch between expectations and reality made it even harder for them to live inside the not yet well-defined new country, Kosovo. On the other hand, language and religious barriers between ethnic Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo keep alive tensions and hostilities in the region. Furthermore, we investigate the way European Union and Kosovo Diaspora play an important role for the future independent country.