What I learned and thought

By Kenji Shimizu

While it was a shame not to be able to conduct the Peace Lab class in person in Kosovo, these last three weeks have been super insightful. Before participating in this class, I knew very little about the Balkan States and the volatile tensions that have persisted throughout the past centuries. These tensions have crept up in the various meetings that we have attended with NGOs and other leadership figures. The meetings confirmed for me that peacebuilding is a very complex, time-consuming procedure, one that is not as easy as the Trump administration would seem to think. 

A perfect example of the painstakingly long process of peacebuilding is the continued presence of UNMIK, who were originally scheduled to leave in 2012. The people we met from UNMIK were career diplomats themselves, having helped out in other conflicts worldwide. According to them, Ambassador Grenell could potentially formulate a peace agreement, but this agreement would paper over the cracks of what is, in my opinion, an almost irreparable conflict. As Mr. Kurti put it, the U.S. is seeking a quick international success, with the desired ascendancy of both Kosovo and Serbia to the European Union, perhaps providing an easier start for dialogue. This taught me a lot about international relations and peacekeeping, namely that countries are more protectionist than I initially thought. If peacebuilding proves to be economically beneficial, as is the case of EU membership, then countries may very easily forgive past quarrels.  

Nonetheless, the work the various NGOs are conducting is inspiring. A particular point that stood out to me was that when Mitrovica Community Building offered English classes, the students pointed out that they would much rather prefer learning either Serbian or Albanian. This taught me the importance of youth in peacebuilding missions, not necessarily only in Kosovo. Younger individuals tend to be more forgiving and open minded than older people, perhaps due to a degree of naivety. An ideal activity, with which the youth can interact among separated communities, is sports. 

 

Through the research for my project, I noticed multiple instances in which, on a meso level, sports helped bind youth from different ethnic backgrounds together. Identity building is still very much developing throughout childhood, with athletes, in particular, providing a source of inspiration for young individuals. 

Comparably, the importance of education was highlighted for me. If teachers educate younger pupils about both the Serbian and Albanian cultures, then negative stereotypes of both cultures, and other minority cultures in Kosovo, would dissipate easier. Future peaceful coexistence, not only in Kosovo, is heavily dependent on non-biased education, ensuring that younger individuals are taught to not hate other ethnicities. In addition, experiences of parents formed a vital part of the willingness to engage in intercommunal dialogue, which I found interesting. This ties back to education, as a hate-incited educational system propagates nationalism, which would increase the amount of nasty experiences individuals experience. A combination of sports activities and educational sessions could ensure that young individuals in Kosovo could live in unison, potentially spilling over into peaceful relationships in next generations.

Similarly, the importance of uniformity in all societal institutions, for peaceful coexistence, was highlighted in the meetings we attended. Specifically, Serb communities in Kosovo were supported by Serbia-backed educational institutions and a Serbia-backed policing unit.
The success of sports in peacebuilding depends heavily on integrated social structures, through which a group of national athletes could rally citizens to live peacefully. This was the case in Ivory Coast, where Didier Drogba’s plea helped stop a civil war from breaking out in 2005, and in Sri Lanka, where a cricket legend called on ethnically different people to stop fighting among themselves. In Kosovo this differs greatly, as Serb-minority communities look up to Serbian athletes. The separate institutions are a big reason for the continued divisiveness prevalent in Kosovo. Therefore, it is vital to reduce this gap as much as possible. 

This made the work of Kosovo 2.0 so interesting, as they are one of the only news outlets to publicize in both Serbian and Albanian (as well as English). The media, as was mentioned in that meeting, is one of the primary instigators of violence in the region. If more news outlets broadcasted in both Serbian and Albanian, it would be easier to tackle the fake news that serves as primary instigator of hateful tensions. 

Ultimately, Peace Lab helped reiterate past knowledge from other IR classes, while at the same time teaching me valuable information about conflict escalation and de-escalation, namely, that the latter is difficult to achieve as conflicts are more complex than meets the eye.