You Can’t Defeat Nationalism, So Stop Trying

[Starman]

Globalism

What does that mean to you? HL told me it was code for Jews. You want us all to be Jews? :HasidicMJ:

 

[Berniewood Hogan]

That guy who wrote The End of History, the book theorizing that 1990's capitalism was the final system and would never be replaced, admitted in recent years that he was wrong.

 

[barese]

There was no rational reason for Serbia to try to retain Kosovo back in 1999 (the local population was overwhelmingly made up of hostile Kosovars and the region itself was of no great strategic or economic value), but Belgrade could not let it go because it was the cradle of Serbian national identity.

This is false, Kosovo is not just a cradle of Serbian identity.
Kosovo is rich in coal and Serbian electrical grid depends on its coal for its thermal power plants. The mine of Trepča alone used to make 70% of Kosovo GDP. Now Serbia is mostly using its other big coal mine, but Trepča is an important puzzle in Serbian energy plans, making it an important reason to fight for Kosovo.

Furthermore, before communist nationalization half of the land (the whole Metohija, from Greek metochion - monastery property) used to belong to the Serbian orthodox church. All ex-communist countries in Europe performed restitution at least in monetary terms, as a way of guaranteeing property rights, and it is interesting to see if Kosovo will adopt a similar restitution law.

Kosovars would be Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar is a geographic term not an ethnic one. They speak Albanian and they are proud Albanians, celebrating Albanian Day of flag throughout Kosovo and Macedonia.



Based on ex-Yugoslavian experience I feel that a multicultural and multinational state is possible, but I'm not sure if compatible with democracy, since election campaigning easily slips into nationalistic populism.
Without democracy it is much easier to pump multicultural identity and I remember rooting with all my heart for Kosovo Albanian football players or Slovenian skiing champions representing ex-Yugoslavia, although some did not speak perfect serbocroatian.