Koso o Albanian diaspo a in he ame
o diaspo a de ini ions and ansna ionalism
Lumnije Kad iu
ABSTRACT
The concep o diaspo a as ano ion nowadays is qui e complex. In ega d o his e m’s ex ensi e us-
age and ‘dispe sion o he meanings o he e m in seman ic, concep ual and disciplina y space’ also
w o e Roge s B ubake in his pape i led ‘The Diaspo a “Diaspo a”’.
Due o he de elopmen and expansion o his concep , in p esen imes, in o his ca ego y, in
ab oad sense, a e included membe s o many mobile people. So, de elopmen pa h ex ends om
he classical diaspo a concep ion ha conside ed as such only he Jews, A menians and G eeks,
whose eason o mig a ion was a iolen displacemen , o he con empo a y concep ion o dias-
po a, in which included di e en g oups o communi ies ha mo e o o he coun ies o a ious
easons and mo i es, such as mig an s, e ugees, gues wo ke s, expelled communi ies, e c. In ad-
di ion, in social sciences he need o abe e unde s anding and analysis o social p ocesses makes
new app oaches appea cons an ly. Such an app oach is also he ansna ional app oach ha is o-
cused on s udying di e en ies o /and connec ions mobile people ha e in wo o mo e coun ies.
Issues ela ed o how he Albanian diaspo a in gene al was concei ed and how Koso o Albanian
diaspo a can be concei ed oday and how ansna ional s udies can help in ecognizing and unde -
s anding his diaspo ic communi y a e ama e o sc u iny in his pape .
KEYWORDS:
diaspo a, Koso o Albanian, p emode ni y, mode ni y, pos mode ni y, ansna ionalism, holidays
DEFINING NOTIONS OF DIASPORA
In p esen imes, any schola dealing wi h diaspo a issues accen ua es he e e -in-
c easing numbe o s udies on his opic. B ubake emphasizes ha — ‘ his has e-
sul ed in wha one migh call “The ‘diaspo a’ diaspo a”— dispe sion o he meanings
o he e m in seman ic, concep ual and disciplina y space.’ (B ubake , 2005) As a e-
sul he e a e nume ous de ini ions and explana ions which depend on he pe spec-
i e o he schola s dealing wi h his issue and hei espec i e disciplines, such as
mig a ion s udies, ansna ional s udies, social s udies, e hnology e c.
Wha is common o all de ini ions is ha diaspo a has o do wi h anumbe o
people, membe s o he same communi y, who mo e om one place ha is called he
place o o igin, usually known as he homeland, o di e en easons o li e in some
o he place.
Ini ially only he expe ience o Jewish people dispe sed a ound he wo ld was
implied by he e m diaspo a. Fo Sa an his e en ep esen s an ‘ideal ype’ o dias-
po a. (Sa an 1991: 83–84; Cli o d 1994: 305; see also Cohen 2008). O e ime, in o his
ca ego y, in ab oad sense, we e included membe s o o he peoples, concep ualised
as membe s o any na ion o e hnici y.
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LUmNIjE KADRIU 57
Classi ica ions o di e en diaspo as we e made no only acco ding o he eason
o dispe sion (which was usually iolen and auma ic, con ibu ing o he e en ion
o memo y, i s idealiza ion, loyal y e c.), bu also acco ding o he ies and ela ions
ha membe s o he diaspo a kep wi h he place o o igin, i.e. homeland. Thus, we
come ac oss e ms such as: ‘classic diaspo a’ (Jewish, G eek and A menians) (p.2),
‘ ic im diaspo a’ (Pales ine, Jewish) (p.2), ‘ ade diaspo a’ (China, Libyan, Indian,
Bal ic Ge mans) (p.2), e c.; some o he g oups o emig an s we e classi ied as ‘na-
ionalis in dis ance’ (Hindu, I ish, Albanians, Ku ds, Tamils…) (p.2) because o hei
con inued poli ical engagemen wi h he homeland, including e o is and ul ana-
ionalis suppo . As a esul o u he p oli e a ion o he e m diaspo a as aca -
ego y, alabou diaspo a who kep emo ional and social ies wi h he homeland (Fili-
pinos, Tu ks, G eeks, I alians, Polish, and Vie namese e c) (p.2) was also included. So,
a e m ha ini ially desc ibed dispe sion o Jews, G eeks and A menians, now has,
as B ubake and o he au ho s ag ee, meanings om he b oades seman ic domain
which includes wo ds such as immig an , emig an , e ugee, isi ing wo ke s, ex-
pelled communi y, e hnic communi y, e c. (B ubake 2005: 2–3)
In his de ini ion o diaspo a Sa an lis s six ea u es ha a e cha ac e is ic o
diaspo a. Acco ding o him, diaspo a cons i u es:
‘expa ia e mino i y communi ies’ (1) ha a e dispe sed om an o iginal ‘cen e’
o a leas wo ‘pe iphe al’ places; (2) ha main ain a‘memo y, ision o my h
abou hei o iginal homeland’; (3) ha ‘belie e hey a e no — and pe haps can-
no be ully accep ed by hei hos coun y’; (4) ha see he ances al home as
aplace o e en ual e u n, when he ime is igh ; (5) ha a e commi ed o he
main enance o es o a ion o his homeland; and (6) o which he g oup’s con-
sciousness and solida i y a e ‘impo an ly de ined’ by his con inuing ela ionship
wi h he homeland. (Sa an 1991: 83; B ubake 2005: 5; Cohen 2008: 6)
Cli o d and o he au ho s who deal wi h diaspo a build hei own p oposals, mos ly by
e e ing c i ically o Sa an’s de ini ion. (Sa an 1991: 83; Cli o d 1994: 304–5; B ubake
2005; Cohen 2008; Po zano ić F ykman 2004a). The main c i icisms o his de ini ion
we e made because o i s o e emphasising he no ion o a‘homeland’, which leads o
amo e essen ialis explana ion o diaspo a as belonging o a e i o ialised o bounded
g oup o people, de ined by hei language, cul u e and some imes eligion. The mos
ex eme a emp s o ge away om such in e p e a ions we e made by Social Cons uc-
ionis Diaspo is s who, as Cohen claims, ‘sough o decons uc he wo co e building
blocks o diaspo a, home/homeland and e hnic/ eligious communi y. (Cohen 2008 :9)
A he p esen ime Benedic Ande son’s explana ion o he concep o he na ion as
‘imagined communi y’ is b oadly accep ed and he a oidance o o depa u e om he
essen ialis and na u alised in e p e a ion o concep s such as na ion and e hnici y,
knowing he nega i e consequences o na ionalism, a e made by all se ious schola s.
Mo eo e , mul iple in e p e a ions a e made wi h g ea ease because o inc easing
complexi y in he wo ld, pe mea ing social, economic and poli ical dimensions glob-
ally. Thus di e en iden i ies, such as e hnic and na ional among o he s, a e explained
in he e ms o de- e i o ialza ion, luidi y o lows, hyb idi y and mixing, e c.
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Cli o d asce ains ha :
We should be wa y o cons uc ing ou wo king de ini ion o a e m like diaspo a
by ecou se o an ‘ideal ype’, wi h he consequence ha g oups become iden i-
ied as mo e o less diaspo ic, ha ing only wo, o h ee, o ou o he basic six
ea u es […] Mo eo e a di e en imes in hei his o y, socie ies may wax and
wane in diaspo ism, depending on changing possibili ies— obs acles, openings,
an agonisms, and connec ions— in hei hos coun ies and ansna ionally. (Cli -
o d 1994: 306)
B ubake says ha :
To o e come hese p oblems o g oupism, Iwan o a gue ha we should hink o
diaspo a no in subs an ialis e ms as abounded en i y, bu a he as an idiom,
s ance, aclaim. We should hink o diaspo a in he i s ins ance as aca ego y o
p ac ice […]. As idiom, s ance, and claim, diaspo a is away o o mula ing he
iden i ies and loyal ies o apopula ion. Those who do he o mula ing may hem-
sel es be pa o he popula ion in ques ion; o hey may be speaking in he name
o he pu a i e homeland s a e. (B ubake 2005: 12)
Howe e , in dealing wi h he p oblem o de ining diaspo a, schola s necessa ily ha e
o deal wi h ce ain ea u es cha ac e izing collec i e o g oup iden i ica ion p e-
sc ibed o asc ibed as iden i y, which, ne e heless, is ela ed o he no ions o e i-
o y ei he as alocali y, egion o ana ion-s a e.
Acco ding o Cli o d, ‘diaspo as a e caugh up and de ined agains (1) he no ms
o na ion-s a es and (2) indigenous, and especially au och honous, claims by “ ibal”
peoples.’(Cli o d 1994:307). Simila ly, B ubake de e mines ha ye ‘ h ee co e ele-
men s emain widely unde s ood o be cons i u i e o diaspo a. […] he i s is dis-
pe sion in space; he second, o ien a ion o a‘homeland’; […] and he hi d bounda y
main enance.’ (p 12) Fu he he adds ha :
The me aphysics o he na ion-s a e as abounded e i o ial communi y may ha e
been o e come; bu he me aphysics o ‘communi y’ and ‘iden i y’ emain. Di-
aspo a can be seen as an al e na i e o he essen ializa ion o belonging; bu i
also ep esen s anon- e i o ial o m o essen ialized belonging. Talk o he de-
e i o ializa ion o iden i y is all well and good; bu i s ill p esupposes ha he e
is ‘an iden i y’ ha is econ igu ed, s e ched in space o c oss s a e bounda ies,
bu on some le el undamen ally he same. (pp. 11–12)
Robin Cohen in his e ised edi ion o he book Global Diaspo as b ings in e es ing pe -
spec i es on he concep o diaspo a ha encompass di e en heo e ical and me h-
odological pe spec i es ega ding diaspo a. He pe cei es ha i is e y impo an
o y o de ine diaspo a pa icula ly because o i s eno mous p oli e a ion, hus he
p oposes ou ools o acili a e he ca ego iza ion o diaspo a. The i s ool would
be he ‘emic/e ic ela ionship’, meaning how membe s o diaspo a as acommuni y
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LUmNIjE KADRIU 59
pe cei e hemsel es (emic) and how ou side s pe cei e hem (e ic) (p.15). The second
ool would be ‘ he passage o ime’ since ‘as ong o enewed ie o he pas o ablock
o assimila ion in he p esen and u u e mus exis o pe mi adiaspo ic conscious-
ness o eme ge…’ (p.16). The hi d ool is alis o ‘common ea u es’ (p.16) 1, consis -
ing o Sa an’s e ised ea u es and Cohen’s addi ions, and as he inal ool Cohen
uses Webe ian ‘ideal ypes’ (p.16), acco ding o which diaspo as a e ypoligized and
classi ied in o se e al g oups, such as ic im, labou , impe ial, ade and de e i o-
ialized diaspo a. He explains ha he Webe ian ‘ideal’ ac ually means he s uc u e
which has o be con as ed wi h di e en ‘ eal’ examples, which a e de ia ions om
he ideal, o med om di e en combina ions o 9 common ea u es; hus each com-
bina ion p esen s apa icula ype.2 Thus, i is unde s andable ha each communi y
de ined as adiaspo a con ains di e en combina ion o ea u es om Sa an, Webe
1 Cohen’s ‘Common ea u es o diaspo a’ a e: 1.Dispe sal om an o iginal homeland, o en
auma ically, o wo o mo e o eign egions; 2.al e na i ely o addi ionally, he expan-
sion om ahomeland in sea ch o wo k, in pu sui o ade o o u he colonial ambi-
ions; 3.acollec i e memo y and my h abou he homeland, including i s loca ion, his o-
y, su e ing and achie emen s; 4.an idealiza ion o he eal o imagined ances al home
and acollec i e commi men o i s main enance, es o a ion, sa e y and p ospe i y, e en
o i s c ea ion; 5. he equen de elopmen o a e u n mo emen o he homeland ha
gains collec i e app oba ion e en i many in he g oup a e sa is ied wi h only a ica ious
ela ionship o in e mi en isi s o he homeland;6. as ong e hnic g oup conscious-
ness sus ained o e along ime and based on asense o dis inc i eness, acommon his o-
y, he ansmission o acommon cul u al and eligious he i age and he belie in acom-
mon a e;7. a oubled ela ionship wi h hos socie ies, sugges ing alack o accep ance o
he possibili y ha ano he calami y migh be all he g oup; 8.asense o empa hy and co-
esponsibili y wi h co-e hnic membe s in o he coun ies o se lemen e en whe e home
has become mo e es igial; and 9. he possibili y o adis inc i e c ea i e, en iching li e in
hos coun ies wi h a ole ance o plu alism (p.17).
2 Ideal ypes o diaspo a, examples and no es
Main ypes o diaspo a Main examples in his book Also men ioned and no es
VICTIM Jews, A icans,
A menians
Also discussed: I ish and Pales in-
ians. Many con empo a y e ugee
g oups a e incipien ic im dia-
spo as bu ime has o pass o see
whe he hey e u n o hei home-
lands, assimila e in hei hos lands,
c eolize o mobilize as adiaspo a.
LABOUR Inden u ed Indians Also discussed: Chinese and Japa-
nese; Tu ks, I alians, No h A icans.
Many o he s could be included. An-
o he synonymous exp ession is
‘p ole a ian diaspo a’.
IMPERIAL B i ish Also discussed: Russians, colonial
powe s o he han B i ain. O he
synonymous exp essions a e ‘se -
le ’ o ‘colonial’ diaspo as.
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60 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 2/2019
and Cohen, p esen ing in his way aunique case, ega dless o possible simila i ies
wi h o he s.
Cohen a gues ha diaspo a as ano ion and phenomenon has unde gone se e al
de elopmen phases, beginning wi h so-called ‘P o o ypical Diaspo a’, ‘The Expanded
Concep o Diaspo a’, ‘Social Cons uc ionis C i iques o Diaspo a’ and he p esen
ime ‘Consolida ion Phase’.(Cohen 2008)
Below Iwill elabo a e mo e on hese phases ying o explain he de elopmen and
he posi ion o Koso o Albanian diaspo a wi hin hese ames. In addi ion Iwill y
o e ame o /and ma ch his ca ego iza ion wi hin h ee main socie al de elopmen
phases, namely p e-mode ni y, mode ni y and pos mode ni y, while adding con em-
po a y condi ions. This way Ibelie e he de elopmen o he e m o diaspo a and
he con ex o Koso o Albanian diaspo a wi hin i will be mo e comp ehensi ely and
clea ly unde s ood.
P emode ni y— The ‘p o o ypical diaspo a’ con ains he Jewish and A menian di-
aspo a, which is also named ‘classical diaspo a’ by some au ho s. (B ubake 2005:2)
These communi ies a e peculia because hei homeland a he ime hei dispe sion
happened was no bounded as ana ion-s a e e i o y in he mode n sense. Bo h
s a es, Is ael as as a e o Jews and A menia o A menians, we e c ea ed in he wen-
ie h cen u y, while hei communi y names a e ela ed o ce ain, co esponden /
espec i e eligious o e hnic communi ies o /and iden i ies. Thus no only he Jew-
ish and A menian Diaspo as bu also o he diaspo as which ha e cons uc ed hei
iden i y a ound eligious o e hnic o acial belonging in ab oade egional sense
wi hin kingdoms o empi es o con inen s could be included in he concep o p e-
mode ni y.
As o he Albanians hey we e ecognized as an e hnic communi y since he p e-
mode n age. They called hemsel es A bë esh and om his name de i ed di e en
a ia ions used in o he languages, such as, o example: Albanians (Eng.), Albanese,
(I alian), Alabanac, Albanec (Sla ic), A ani as (G eek), A nau (Tu kish) e c. A he
p esen ime hey call hemsel es Shqip a , hei s a e Shqipë i and he language
hey use is called Shqip (Çabej 1975 (a): 62–67; 1975 (b) 68–70; Islami 2008: 418). They
a e descenden s o Illy ians. The iden i y o he Albanians is mainly based on hei
language, which is an independen b anch o Indo-Eu opean languages, and hei
TRADE Lebanese, Chinese Also discussed: Vene ians, business
and p o essional Indians, Chinese,
Japanese. No e also he auxilia y el-
emen s discussed in Chap e 5.
DETERRITORIALIZED Ca ibbean peoples,
Sindhis, Pa sis
Also discussed: Roma, Muslims
and o he eligious diaspo as. The
exp essions ‘hyb id’, ‘cul u al’ and
‘pos -colonial’ also a e linked o he
idea o de e i o ializa ion wi h-
ou being synonymous. (Cohen,
2008:18)
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cul u e. Al hough i is admi ed ha hey a e he mos ancien inhabi an s o he
Balkans, hei e i o iali y has been qui e luid his o ically, mo eo e since bo de s
in he p e-mode n age did no ha e he same meaning as in he mode n age. The same
could be said ega ding hei eligion. A he p esen ime mos Albanians a e o he
Muslim eligion, bu he e a e also Ch is ian (Ca holic and O hodox, and ecen ly
small numbe o P o es an ) Albanians.
Thus as a as p emode ni y is conce ned, Albanians hen ep esen ed apa icu-
la e hnic g oup, wi h apa icula language and cul u e on he Balkan Peninsula.
In he li e a u e ega ding Albanian mig a ions, mo emen s o A bë eshs o o he
places such as o G eece, I aly, C oa ia, Hunga y, ha happened as a esul o wa s
while he O oman Empi e was pe mea ing he Balkans, a e desc ibed as His o ic Di-
aspo a ( ha seems o be in line wi h “p o o ypical diaspo a’) in con as o Con empo-
a y Diaspo a, in which mig a ions a e he s a e o Albania in 1912 was es ablished
a e included. (Çabej 1975; Islami 2008; Sulemani 2009: 5) 3
Mode ni y— In Cohen’s ‘Expanded Concep o Diaspo a’ a e included mos i no all
kinds o diaspo as, which a e ela ed in one way o ano he , no only o he concep
o na ion-s a e and na ionali y, bu also o he concep o e hnic mino i ies. People,
because o wa s and con lic s, we e no only dispe sed, in ce ain cases o ce ully and
auma ically, bu also di ided by he newly es ablished bo de s o na ional s a es. As
a esul o he ac ha e hnic o /and na ional iden i ies we e buil du ing along p o-
cess, and na ional s a e on ie s we e assigned as a esul o di e en poli ical and
powe decisions, as B ubake pe cei es, some g oups we e acciden ally le ou side
hei e hno-na ional ‘homeland’, and could be/a e, acco ding o him, coun ed as Ac-
ciden al Diaspo as. (B ubake 2000; B ubake 2005: 5). He de ines his phenomenon
no only as adispe sion o people bu also as adispe sion o bo de s/ on ie s.
Thus, mode ni y, i simpli ied, is cha ac e ised by he es ablishmen o na ion
s a es and “ ixed” bo de s ha con ibu ed o he complexi y o diaspo an phenom-
ena. O e ime, as a esul o he di e ing poli ical and economical de elopmen
s ages o na ion-s a es, i.e. due o indus ialisa ion, o he ca ego ies o diaspo a
eme ged, g ounded in he ac i i y in which he dispe sed people we e in ol ed, such
as he a o e men ioned labou diaspo a, ade diaspo a, na ionalis diaspo a e c. I is
impo an o no e ha in he pe iod o mode ni y, al hough ies wi h he place o o i-
gin we e main ained, he in ensi y o con ac s wi h people he e and wi h he place
i sel was conside ably lowe and much mo e di icul .
Mode ni y in he Balkans is o en ma ked by he all o he O oman Empi e ha
was ollowed by se e al Balkan Wa s and Two Wo ld Wa s ha a he same ime ep-
esen ed no only wa s be ween powe s bu also wa s o e lands and bo de s be ween
he newly es ablished na ions, which ep esen ed new s a e bo de s. These bo de s
we e de ined by ‘bounda y commissions’ es ablished by he G ea Powe s, who s a ed
hei wo k a e he all o O oman Empi e and inalized i in 1926, and since hen
“Albania’s bo de s ha e emained ela i ely he same”. (Sulemani 2009: 9) A ha
3 I should be no ed ha Koso o Albanian diaspo a was included in mos books dealing wi h
Albanian diaspo a in gene al. See also (Schmi 2012: 219–224).
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62 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 2/2019
ime, aconside able numbe o Albanians emained ou side hese bo de s, wi hin
wha was hen he Se bian-C oa ian-Slo enian Kingdom, and a e he Second Wo ld
Wa wi hin Yugosla ia, espec i ely in Koso o, Macedonia, Mon eneg o and Sou h
Se bia. (Schmi 2012: 177; Malcolm 2001) Ne e heless, hei al eady es ablished
e hnic and na ional awa eness emained and e en s eng hened, and he s a e o Al-
bania was e e ed o as amo he land. So, a his ime B ubake ’s p e iously men-
ioned Acciden al Diaspo as ha e happened: Koso o Albanians we e also such acase.
Besides, as a esul o ap e-wa ag eemen be ween Yugosla ia and Tu key o
mo e he Tu kish popula ion o Tu key, ag ea numbe o Albanians we e ea ed
as Tu ks and he e o e o ced o mig a e. ‘A ms ac ion’4 was jus one way o making
Albanians lea e he coun y. I is es ima ed, as Schmi pu s i , ha be ween 1953 and
1966, a o al numbe o 100,000 Muslim Albanians mig a ed o Tu key. (Schmi 2012:
177) So, as is ob ious, in his sho pe iod Koso o Albanians p oduced bo h an “acci-
den al diaspo a’ and a“ ic im diaspo a”.
This only changed a e 1966 wi h cons i u ional changes ha awa ded Koso o
mo e p o incial igh s. Howe e , his poli ical elaxa ion a e 1966 p oduced
aKoso o Albanian labou diaspo a ha ac ually esul ed om he con ac be ween
Wes e n Eu opean coun ies and Yugosla ia o he employmen o seasonal wo ke s.
(Mus a a a al. 2007: 27)5La e , in he la e 1980s and 1990s, Koso o p oduced apoli ical
and economic diaspo a as a esul o he de e io a ing si ua ion in Koso o and i s s a-
us. The escape o young boys om mili a y se ice, he closu e o he uni e si y, and
he mass expelling o Albanians om wo kplaces esul ed in inc eased mig a ion and
economic and poli ical asylum seeking ha p oduced and added anew wa e o ic im
diaspo a. To pu i simply he e was p oduced acombina ion o ic im diaspo a, due
o poli ical si ua ion, and labou diaspo a, due o economic si ua ion.
The peak o diaspo a p oduc ion by Koso o Albanians occu ed wi h hei mass
expulsion in 1999.
Pos mode ni y— ‘Social Cons uc ionis C i iques o Diaspo a’ includes old and new
diaspo as in e p e ed in he ame o pos mode nis heo e ical explana ions and
condi ions, which a e, as men ioned abo e, cha ac e ized mo e by p ocesses han
o ms, mo e by o ma ions hen o ms, mo e by cons uc ions hen some hing p e-
de e mined by e i o y, essence o na u e, mo e by ansbo de s hen bo de s, mo e
4 A ms ac ion was called as a e ac ion o collec weapons om ci ilians. The insis ence was
so g ea ha i people did no ha e weapons hey we e o ced o buy hem and p e end
hey a e gi ing away hose hey had, o he wise in he cases when one would claim ha
hey do no ha e hey would be physically o u ed o ex eme. (Malcolm 2001: 334)
5 Mos ecen mig a ion wa es o Koso o Albanians can be ound in Mus a a a al. who we e
engaged in so called Fo um 2015 wo king in ‘Diaspo a and Mig a ion Poli ies’, ap ojec
o Koso o SOROS Founda ion and RIINVEST Ins i u e ha o e s expe ise and ad oca es
de elopmen issues in Koso o. Fo um 2015 h ough i s ac i i ies s imula es he deba e on
di e en opics and p omo es he de elopmen o an ad anced poli ical cul u e. In b oad-
e pe spec i e, Fo um 2015 aims o p epa e Koso o o Eu o-A lan ic in eg a ion. In 2007
Fo um has conduc ed abo e Su ey published in 2007 ha can be ound in in e ne .
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LUmNIjE KADRIU 63
by mixing han pu i y, hus hyb idi y, e c. This was, on he one hand, a esul o de el-
opmen s in echnology, which made mig a ion, i.e. mobili y, inc ease signi ican ly a
aglobal le el, esul ing also in social, cul u al, poli ical and economical condi ions o
people. Thus, because o hese new eme ging phenomena, his age is also called ‘pos -
na ional’, alluding o he weakening o na ion-s a es.(Appadu ai 1996; B ubake 2005;
Cohen 2008: 174) So, seen ch onologically, while du ing mode ni y na ions we e con-
side ed ce ain communi ies bounded by ce ain bo de s, by he end o he mode n
pe iod na ions we e de ined as ‘imagined communi ies’ beyond na ion-s a e bo de s,
whils in pos mode ni y, na ions, as Appadu ai pu i , a e coming o an end, gi ing
way o o ma ion o ‘diaspo ic public sphe es’ […] in ‘apos -na ional poli ical o de ’
(Appadu ai 1996: 22) as a esul o inc eased mobili y o humans and goods a ound
he wo ld due o he de elopmen o echnology and communica ion, enabling mo -
ing people and g oups o main ain mo e consis en and equen connec ions wi h
hei eligious o e hnic communi ies ac oss he bo de s.
Con empo a y condi ions— Cohen’s ‘The consolida ion phase’ ollowing he pos mod-
e n one could be conside ed o be an age whe e con adic o y endencies a e no
only p esen and pe sis en bu a e also being acknowledged and s udied. Di e en
con adic o y endencies in socie ies ha e been acknowledged since Du kheim, how-
e e , in he mode n age, i.e. mode ni y, he e we e schools like he F ank u School
ha assumed ha e olu ion goes in unilinea pa e n hus one (i.e adi ion) would
be eplaced by ano he (mode ni y); so, i was assumed ha mode ni y would esul
in ul ima e uni o mi y.
Howe e , in cu en imes, i seems qui e ob ious ha he eplacemen o one
o m wi h ano he is ou o he ques ion, and ha complexi y is inc easing, and
he e o e he eme gence o ex ao dina y new phenomena is going on, pa icula ly
due o he pe sis ence o con as ing endencies. Fo example, many schola s ha e
o eseen he e osion o na ion-s a es, e idencing he eme gence o di e en sup a-
na ional p ojec s such as he Eu opean Union, he libe aliza ion o mo emen and
ade, and nume ous ansna ional companies, e c. As a esul o he pos mode n
condi ion in con empo a y imes, mixing, hyb idi y and imagina ion a e p omi-
nen ly highligh ed. As diaspo a communica ion and main enance o ies wi h he
homeland ha e ne e been easie pos mode n condi ion in con empo a y imes is
e y much e lec ed cul u ally bu also economically and poli ically. As Cohen a e s:
Wha nine een h-cen u y na ionalis s wan ed was aspace ‘ o each ‘ ace’, a e -
i o ializing o each social iden i y. Wha hey ha e go ins ead is achain o cos-
mopoli an ci ies and an inc easing p oli e a ion o sub-na ional and ansna ional
iden i ies ha canno easily be con ained in he na ion s a e sys em’ p.174
Ne e heless, again, as many schola s ha e p esupposed e osion o na ion s a es,
hey also no e ha mig a ion has ne e been mo e con olled. (B ubake 2005: 9)
Thus in his phase we ha e o deal wi h he pe sis ence o na ion s a es bu also
he pe sis ence o people in hei cul u al iden i ies e en ac oss bo de s. We ha e o
deal also wi h he c ea ion o sup ana ional eo ganiza ion upon whose policies no
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64 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 2/2019
only na ional s a es depend bu also he a es o inc easingly mobile people in e ac -
ing in di e en ways.
Acon adic o y endency in ega d o diaspo as can be no iced o example when
Cohen claims ha ‘ hey wan no only he secu i y and oppo uni ies a ailable in
hei coun ies o se lemen , bu also acon inuing ela ionship wi h hei coun y
o o igin and co-e hnic membe s in o he coun ies […] Diaspo as a icula e hei
demands in e ms o human igh s o “g oup igh s”’(p.173).
And in simila ashion s udies on diaspo a highligh new ways o main aining
he ‘“changing same”, some hing endlessly hyb idized and in p ocess bu pe sis-
en ly he e— memo ies and p ac ices o collec i e iden i y main ained o e long
s e ches o ime’ (Cli o d 1994: 320). And his ‘changing same’ is conside ed by Cli -
o d a‘ha mless e hnocen ic su i al ac ic […] no an absolu e end in i sel ’ (p.322).
Ma in Söke eld’s concep o ‘diaspo a o ma ion as a“special case o e hnici y”, as
“imagined ansna ional communi ies which uni e segmen s o people ha li e in
e i o ially sepa a ed loca ions”’ (Söke eld 2006: 2; see also in Cohen 2008:13) and
Appadu ai’s e hnoscapes and p oduc ion o locali ies (1996) could be unde s ood in
he same way, as ways o main aining he ‘“changing same”.
These con adic o y endencies a e seen by Kon ad Kös lin as wo sides o he
same coin i.e. mode nisa ion. In his obse a ions in ‘New Meanings o he Region
and Cul u e’6 he elabo a es he in luence o he globaliza ion p ocess and i s e ec s
on many meanings and con ex s o egion and cul u e as cons uc ed by he eli e,
o dina y people and poli icians, bo h du ing he e a o na ionaliza ion and con em-
po a ily. As he pu s i :
Since globaliza ion gained new igo he e is shown adi ec emphasis and anew,
somehow su p ising, in e es in egional cul u e. This in e es , which can be
called localism o egionalism, is ob iously closely ela ed o he phenomenon o
globaliza ion. Regionalism is he o he side o he coin o globaliza ion. I u ned
ou ha he old idea o g owing na ions by uni ing hei egions was aw ong ini-
ial assump ion. All a ound he wo ld oday, he new s a e de e mines i sel as
e hnically di e en , ying o become independen in ela ion o he o me big
wholes and hus wan ing o c ea e new na ions. The eby hey use selec ed sym-
bols o popula cul u e as asymbol o hei own di e ence. Some o he new s a es
ha e names ha we ne e hea d be o e. E en in mos emo e places, oday we
can iden i y aces o ansna ional p ocesses, in o he wo ds, globaliza ion. We
can see, o example, sa elli e dishes e en on he poo es hu s o Coca Cola cans
h own by he oadside. (Kös lin 2001: 33; 2011: 79–80).
Thus con adic o y endencies a e p esen , a e luid, hey low and o en in e wine.
So, apos -na ional endency g ows as a endency o sel -e hniza ion leading o aso
6 Kon ad Kös lin, ‘No a sh aćanja egije ikul u e’, in: Na odna Umje nos 38/2 (Zag eb:
2001), pp 33–49, o Kon ad Kös lin, ‘Kup ime e eja ë egjioni dhe ë kul u ës’ in
Gju mime Albanologjike Folklo dhe E nologji (GjAFE) 40 (P ish inë; Ins i u i Albanologjik
iP ish inës, 2011), pp.79–98.
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LUmNIjE KADRIU 71
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Lumnije Kad iu is a esea ch associa e a he Ins i u e o Albanology, Depa men o E hnology in
P ish ina, Koso o. She has ea ned Diploma deg ee in E hnology and Gene al linguis ics a he Uni-
e si y o Zag eb, Mas e ’s Deg ee in E hnology a he Uni e si y o P ish ina, and Doc o al deg ee
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72 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 2/2019
in Eu opean E hnology a he Uni e si y o Vienna. He hesis was abou Koso o Albanian diaspo a
p ac icing holidays and hei keeping ies wi h amily and homeland. Since 2011, she is pe iodically
engaged as an adjunc lec u e a he Depa men o E hnology and Cul u al An h opology, Uni-
e si y o P ish ina. She is an au ho o he monog aph Glocaliza ion— e hno-cul u al pe cep ions.
She pa icipa ed in nume ous na ional and in e na ional con e ences o ganized in Koso o, Albania,
Macedonia, C oa ia, Hunga y, Bulga ia, and Is ael. She is amembe o edi o ial boa d o he jou -
nal Gju mime Albanologjike, Folklo dhe E nologji published by he Ins i u e o Albanology, as well as
o he jou nal An opologjia publish by he Ins i u e o Cul u al An h opology and A S udies in Ti-
ana, Albania. She is also membe o SIEF and InASEA. He ecen esea ch in e es s a e p ocesses
o globaliza ion and ansna ionalism.
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