KOSOVO: REPEATING HISTORY?

In many ways the current conflict in Kosovo is unique. The province functioned independently for years, and the Kosovars themselves seemed to be content as a province in the former Yugoslavia. It was not until the new president, Slobodan Milosevic, came to power and took away many of the rights of the Kosovo citizens that they began to demand independence.

In many other ways, however, the current conflict in Kosovo is not that different from conflicts that have occurred elsewhere in the world. If we use the First and Second World Wars as examples, we can generate the following list of elements that often lead to conflict: alliances between countries, nationalism, historical events, disagreement over territorial boundaries, the political aims of leaders, terrorist activities, and the restriction of civilian rights.

Copy these elements of conflict into your notebook, and add any additional items you feel are often present when a conflict breaks out.

Assessing the Conflict in Kosovo
1. While watching this News in Review story, check off the elements you have recorded that you think apply to the situation in Kosovo and jot down key information. For example, beside alliances you would probably write “Serbia and Russia, long-time allies.”

2. As well, record any other elements that the video seems to suggest contributed to the conflict in Kosovo.

3. Compare your findings with your classmates. In what ways is the conflict in Kosovo not “just another war?”

Lessons From Kosovo
Watch the video a second time. After viewing, discuss answers to the following questions.

1. Why in conflict situations do governments often shut down newspapers in key areas where the conflict is occurring?

2. Why are schools taken over, or university professors fired?

3. What can we learn from the fact that the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo developed an entire hidden society within the province?

4. Why do you think Slobodan Milosevic refused international requests to pull the Serbian troops out of Kosovo?

5. How might the prime minister of Canada react if an outside body like the United Nations told him or her how to conduct the affairs of Canada?

6. Why do you think, as some critics have suggested, the international community is only concerned with giving back to the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo the freedoms they lost as opposed to supporting them in their fight for independence?

7. Why do you think Milosevic waited until the threat of a NATO air strike before he was willing to pull his troops out of Serbia?

8. What does the Kosovo conflict teach us about the international community’s ability to solve disputes?