Kosovo Albanian diaspora in the frame of diaspora definitions and transnationalism
Abstract
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Full text
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 ano 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
ab 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 abe 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 ama 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 anumbe 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 ab 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 aca -
ego y, alabou 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
aplace 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
amo 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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58 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 2/2019
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, Iwan o a gue ha we should hink o
diaspo a no in subs an ialis e ms as abounded en i y, bu a he as an idiom,
s ance, aclaim. We should hink o diaspo a in he i s ins ance as aca ego y o
p ac ice […]. As idiom, s ance, and claim, diaspo a is away o o mula ing he
iden i ies and loyal ies o apopula 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 alocali y, egion o ana 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 abounded 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 anon- 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 acommuni y
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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 ‘as ong o enewed ie o he pas o ablock
o assimila ion in he p esen and u u e mus exis o pe mi adiaspo ic conscious-
ness o eme ge…’ (p.16). The hi d ool is alis 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 apa icula ype.2 Thus, i is unde s andable ha each communi y
de ined as adiaspo 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 ahomeland in sea ch o wo k, in pu sui o ade o o u he colonial ambi-
ions; 3.acollec 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 acollec 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. as ong e hnic g oup conscious-
ness sus ained o e along ime and based on asense o dis inc i eness, acommon his o-
y, he ansmission o acommon cul u al and eligious he i age and he belie in acom-
mon a e;7. a oubled ela ionship wi h hos socie ies, sugges ing alack o accep ance o
he possibili y ha ano he calami y migh be all he g oup; 8.asense 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 adis 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 adiaspo 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 aunique case, ega dless o possible simila i ies
wi h o he s.
Cohen a gues ha diaspo a as ano 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 Iwill 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 Iwill 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 Ibelie 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 ana ion-s a e e i o y in he mode n sense. Bo h
s a es, Is ael as as 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 ab 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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LUmNIjE KADRIU 61
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 apa icu-
la e hnic g oup, wi h apa 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 along 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 adispe sion o people bu also as adispe 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, aconside 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 amo 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 acase.
Besides, as a esul o ap e-wa ag eemen be ween Yugosla ia and Tu key o
mo e he Tu kish popula ion o Tu key, ag 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
aKoso 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 apoli 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 anew wa e o ic im
diaspo a. To pu i simply he e was p oduced acombina 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 as 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’, ap 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
aglobal 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 ‘apos -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 aspace ‘ o each ‘ ace’, a e -
i o ializing o each social iden i y. Wha hey ha e go ins ead is achain 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.
Acon 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 acon 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 adi ec emphasis and anew,
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 aw 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 asymbol 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, apos -na ional endency g ows as a endency o sel -e hniza ion leading o aso
6 Kon ad Kös lin, ‘No a sh aćanja egije ikul 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
iP 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 amembe 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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