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There is an unexpected movement to bring Kosovo
into the radicalism discussion in the American media. Recently,
there have been many articles, news, and reports on the increase of
radical fractions in Kosovo. One of the most controversial ones was
the New York Times article on
“How Kosovo was Turned Into Fertile Ground for ISIS.” While the
article was widely shared in social media, it was also widely
criticized by experts of the Balkans, both local and international,
and the government of Kosovo.
It is difficult to understand this movement of
international attention to Kosovo and ISIS. Yes, Kosovo is a very
tolerant Muslim-majority country, and yes, Wahhabi factions have
been a problem after the 1999 war; but they have never found a
fertile ground and they have always been rejected by mainstream
society. Moreover, what they called a “pipeline for jihadists,” it
is reported that even the Kosovars who went to fight in Syria, which
are of a similar percentage of other European countries’ nationals,
have flown to Turkey from the airports of neighboring countries.
Now that the Middle East is securitized and that
Turkey is in the final stage of securitization;
securitization-obsessed journalists, analysts, and politicians have
turned their eyes towards the Balkans, and especially the newly
founded country where the approval rating of the US, Britain, and
Germany, is above 90% in all the post-war polls. Kosovo has been the
target because it also is the clearest success story of American
intervention abroad: no American soldier died in combat, genocide
was prevented, and although problematic the state formation is
ongoing.
The main problem with this narrative is that it
serves the purpose of the small group that wants to radicalize the
Muslims worldwide. Anyone who is curious about Countering Violent
Extremism (CVE) will learn that poverty is not a driver for
recruitment. While the Saudi money was given to families who lost
everything in war, the percentage of these families being
radicalized, or even worse going to fight in the Middle East, is
insignificantly low.
Claims about Kosovo being a hotbed for extremists
goes beyond being inaccurate into being dangerous. Firstly, it
undermines the government’s and international community’s ongoing
work in identifying and taking actions against ISIS fighters and
recruiters in Kosovo; and secondly, these portraits of Kosovar
Albanians as “brainwashed by Saudi propaganda” denies their agency
of thinking and the ongoing struggle of Albanians to rebuild their
tolerant faith after communism. Such narrative only increases
Islamophobia, which brings another type of racism.
According to the latest reports by Kosovo
officials and civil society, while the approval rate of American and
European foreign policy is still above 90%, in 2015 the number of
Kosovar fighters in Middle Eastern wars has decreased by 80% and
there is no case reported in 2016.
The anti-Saudi hysteria in the US is one of the
causes of this securitization movement. But, it has no factual base
in Kosovo and it is not an exaggeration to claim that Saudi sympathy
is higher among white American non-Muslims than Kosovar Albanian
Muslims.
Another reason for the securitization of Kosovo,
to my analysis, is the criticism of the American foreign policy.
While American foreign policy was a mess during the Bush
administration, and the Obama administration has had very little
success in making up the failures of the previous administration,
Kosovo is one of the success stories of American foreign policy. In
this regard when American foreign policy is criticized then Kosovo
becomes a target and it is securitized by radicalism. Securitizing
Kosovo has more to do with criticizing American foreign policy than
Kosovo per se, but these actions have negative effects.
Most importantly this loud “radical Islam”
exaggeration perfectly serves the corrupted elite in Kosovo, to
distract people from corruption and criminal scandals they are
involved in. Local and international journalists can do a better and
easier job if they look at the corruption and criminal scandals of
the political elite, who have been jeopardizing the fate of a nation
with the youngest population. Kosovo has one of the most educated
young generations, but it also has the highest rate of unemployment.
Many youngsters choose Europe and America for their education due to
the inefficiency in Kosovo’s educational system. While the
government can be highly criticized for inefficiency, they have
successfully tackled the prevention and fighting CVE in Kosovo.
Government officials and political elite have used
this narrative to please the European Union and the American
diplomats and politicians. Most of EU reports on Kosovo have highly
criticized crime rate and corruption, but the government has failed
to address these issues. Instead, they use the “radicalism threat”
narrative to cover up for their inefficiency to tackle corruption
and crime.
In this picture, securitizing Kosovo through
radicalism, which it has been in steep decline for the past two
years, brings great damage to the newly founded state’s image,
isolating it further: making it more difficult to get the Schengen
visa liberation regime, preventing foreign investments thus
increasing unemployment, and addressing worrisome problems, such as
corruption, government inefficiency, unemployment, and crime. I must
conclude by Dr. Daniel Serwer’s –one of few Balkan experts that
remained in DC—,
remarks, “What we need to do … is to continue to help ensure the
success of Kosovo’s democracy and economy, as well as its
application of the rule of law. Despite the Times’ [sic.] front-page
article, Kosovo is one of the last things Americans should have to
worry about.”
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