TURKS OF KOSOVO: WHAT TO EXPECT

Abstract

The ethnic Turks in the post-communist Balkans were faced with one of two diametrically opposed experiences in the 1990s. They were either caught between the nationalism of the majority and that of the major minority, as in Kosovo and Macedonia, or they were relieved of ethnic tension and benefited from the overall democratisation of the country as in Bulgaria and Romania. In both situations, however, they were able to form ethnic parties and participate in political processes. In the meantime, again in both cases, especially due to Turkey's position in the region as a major power, more often than not they have gained confidence as citizens of their respective states. In this new environment, while some Turks have become more aware of their ethnic identity in a political context where ethnic identity has become particularly fashionable, others in the same countries moved away from their previous stress on ethnicity. In any case, it is striking that when most nationalities became nationalist, the Turks, by and large, remained remarkably distant from ethnic and, especially, separatist nationalism. The Turks of the Balkans not only did not turn separatists, but they also openly resented others' separatist calls. In general, they have been strongly in favour of the territorial integrity of their new states in former Yugoslavia or elsewhere in the Balkans during the turbulent 1990s.