| ID | 121411 |
| Title Proper | Parallel governance and boundary strategies in Gracanica, Kosovo |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Borgh, Chris van der ; Lasance, Laura |
| Publication | 2013. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In the period after 1999, the international community abrogated Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. It took responsibility for governing Kosovo and actively supported the development of autonomous Kosovar government institutions. Simultaneously, the Serbian authorities immediately started to rebuild Serbian government institutions in the parts of Kosovo that hosted a Serbian majority population. This article analyzes how this situation of parallel governance affects ethnic boundary strategies in the village of Gracanica, the largest Serbian village in central Kosovo. The article is based on evidence collected during fieldwork in Gracanica one year after Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008. In this period, the Kosovar government implemented a decentralization program, which would transform Gracanica into a Serb majority municipality. Using Andreas Wimmer's multilevel process theory on boundary making, the article argues that in the period studied, "the scripts of action" concerning how to deal with the Kosovar government do slowly change, but this is largely a pragmatic response and Kosovo Serbs still identify themselves with Serbia. Important explanatory factors for these changing local dynamics are the changes in institutional structures (less Belgrade, more Pristina), the changes in (the balance of) resources offered by either government at the local level, the characteristics of the local political networks, and the weakness of local leadership. |
| `In' analytical Note | Nationalism and Ethnic Politics Vol. 19, No.2; Apr-Jun 2013: p.187-209 |
| Journal Source | Nationalism and Ethnic Politics Vol. 19, No.2; Apr-Jun 2013: p.187-209 |
| Key Words | International Community ; Kosovo ; Serbia's Sovereignty ; Serbia ; Government Institutions ; Serbian Majority Population ; Parallel Governance ; Local Leader |