The making of citizenship against corruption in Kosovo: protest, lies, and the public good

The Legitimacy of new Regionalism in the European Integration Process

“…The problem of corruption in Kosovo made over the past years the object of a growing body of literature that analyzed the institutional, societal and contextual factors of Kosovo's unfinished statehood (Elbasani, 2017), its violent history (Belloni, 2012), the difficult transition towards a modern economic system and the failure of international donor coordination (Venner, 2016), the interplay of local and international actors (Uberti, 2014;Tadic and Elbasani, 2018), the incompetence and corruption of international state builders (Capussela, 2015) and the deficient social capital (Ante, 2008). Researchers noted that corruption is deeply engrained Kosovo's society (Duli, 2014), while in the same time significant societal mobilization against corruption was noticed (Luci, 2016).…”

Women’s Activism in the Civil Resistance Movement in Kosovo (1989–1997): Characteristics, Development, Encounters

“…However, the revolts, which at first seemed to be growing more and more violent, transformed into a nonviolent civil resistance movement (Clark 2001, 46). This context opened up with the new political opportunities that arose after the fall of several socialist regimes in Eastern Europe, creating an atmosphere of “democratic spring” and convincing people that there would be a space for socio-political pluralism (Pula, 2004, 804), where Albanians saw a chance to “reform” their society (Clark 2013, 283; Luci 2014). Political parties and organizations that were created within this new context include the LDK, the Council for Human Rights and Freedoms (CHRF), the Social Democratic Party, the Youth Parliament, the Nënë Tereza humanitarian organization, and Motrat Qiriazi—the first women’s organization 22 .…”

“…In this context, the campaign between 1990 and 1991 to end blood feuds was linked with the unity of the population. Hundreds of families lived in deadly risk due to blood feuds and a campaign to end this dynamic resulted in the reconciliation of at least 2,000 families, which some identified as a modernizing step toward democracy and national unity (Clark 2000; Luci 2014).…”

“…The nonviolent civil resistance process gave women the opportunity to participate in the public sphere. As Luci and Gusia (2014, 203) explain, the new rise in Albanian identity brought a new period of activism for women, offering new political scenarios for the development of new agencies. Here, the previous assimilation of the IWA by the LDK shaped women’s agency within civil resistance: women’s activism was split between participating in the LDK and those working independently, following the IWA’s initial objectives.…”

“…At the same time, this movement has rarely been analyzed through gender lenses, contributing to the sidelining and lack of knowledge about women’s participation, activism, and varied contributions. Overall, when the experience of women’s activism is referenced, it is not identified as a socio-political agency with a “longer history and continuity,” as Luci and Gusia state (2014, 213), but it is identified as a product of postwar reconstruction and peacebuilding. However, as I have mapped throughout the article, women were active in the socio-political development of Kosovo decades earlier, more visibly starting in the early 1980s, though women activists were present even earlier, having developed their own agency, methodology, and strategies for incidence.…”