Open AccessPositive and Negative Identity Satisfiers in the Kosovo Cont1ict
Author(s) -
Valery Perry
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
refuge
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1920-7336
pISSN - 0229-5113
DOI - 10.25071/1920-7336.22019
Subject(s) - identity (music) , multinational corporation , peacebuilding , set (abstract data type) , political science , negotiation , conflict resolution , social psychology , political economy , sociology , public relations , psychology , law , computer science , aesthetics , philosophy , programming language
In this article, the author examines theimportance of identity as a sustainingfactor in the continuing Kosovo confIict.Basic aspects of identity-based conflictsare reviewed, followed by a discussionabout positive and negative identitysatisfiers. A matrix comparing the identity needs of the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo is presented, together with the current negative identity satisfiers that are sustaining the conflict, and a set of potential positive identity satisfiers that could help to resolve the conflict in the long-term. This review of the manifestations of unfulfilled identity needsreveals that the disputants share many similarconcerns. This commonality is rarelymentioned in the literature on Kosovo,yet could serve as an important startingpoint for strategies of reconciliation. Aregional peacebuilding plan that appreciates the importance of identity issues as conflict sources, possibly modelled after The Pact on Stability in Europe and other multinational stability-building efforts, is proposed, as are a set of potential regional efforts that are necessary if conflictresolution in Kosovo is to succeed.