Summary Of Kosovo By Wayne Nelles

Kosovo is an interesting test case in which the distribution of land following the first World War led directly to the ethnic conflicts that resulted in horrific violence and still exist today. Wayne Nelles in "Education, underdevelopment, unnecessary war and human security in Kosovo/Kosova" argues that poverty, undervelopment, and failed democracy lead to "human rights abuses, violent civil conflict and a major war in 1999" (Nelles, 69). Nelles focuses on the impacts on the educational system of Kosovo with the ethnic tensions pre-conflict, and the post-conflict struggles that continue to impact Kosovo. The historical roots of the conflict in Kosovo can be traced back to the end of the first World War when the Yugoslavia was granted territorial and legal legitimacy. According to Nelles, the inclusion of Kosovo "sowed seeds for recent crisis" (70). The Serbians were the group with power in the 1980's as the internal problems fueled by socio-economic divides increased. Decreasing economic development led to a drastic increase in unemployment which reached as high as 27.5% (71). The Serbs held most of the professional jobs and the Albanians increasingly called for an independent state.

The responses included the imposition of martial law, the arrest of academics, and the removal of Albanian teachings from the main university in Kosovo, Pristina University (71). Albanian demonstrations to these responses ignited the flame on the ethnic divides. Increasingly, the Serbs subjected themselves to self-segregation by leaving Kosovo. For example, by "1971, Serbs were 18.3 percent [of the population of Kosovo], by 1981, 13.2 percent, and by 1991 only 9.9 percent" (72). The process of self-segregation led to further insecurity of the Serbs as the Albanian majority failed to ensure their security once the system of power was