Schmitt: Kosovo is one of the most endangered countries in Europe

As he observes the geopolitical situation, and responds to the identity of Kosovo, what the renowned Swiss historian Oliver Jens Schmit says is alarming. He says that the state should prepare “for a possible military conflict”. “It would be more important to talk about military defense, civil defense, hospitals, emergency plans and to prepare them seriously than about language and literature”, says Schmitt in an interview for KOHO. According to him, along with the Republic of Moldova, Kosovo is one of the most endangered countries in Europe. “In Kosovo, the risk of war is not discussed more seriously than in other European countries. What is needed now are not debates about identity, but serious preparations for an attack”, says Schmitt

Swiss historian Oliver Jens Schmitt describes Kosovo as a stable democracy on the 17th anniversary of its independence. The member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences says that within Albanian culture, Kosovo has its own culture, not in the linguistic sense, but in the political sense. Schmitt, who, in addition to studying the past, is also a keen observer of the Balkans, says that Kosovo differs significantly from Albania, where the legacy of Enverist culture continues. 

In a written interview for KOHA, he says that political Islam is advancing in Kosovo and gaining followers, especially among the younger generation. According to him, in this case the question is how Kosovo positions itself between Europe and the Islamic world. 

“But these questions must be answered by Kosovars themselves,” he says. According to Schmitt, the administration of US President Donald Trump no longer seems willing to guarantee Europe's security.

In such a case, for the renowned scientist, Trump's approach has dramatic consequences for the EU. He considers that EU states are not militarily prepared for a conflict with Russia. 

"Without American protection, the EU must expect a Russian attack," he says. 

In this case, he also mentions Kosovo as a country at risk. He says that, along with the Republic of Moldova, Kosovo is one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe. He advises that Kosovo should make serious preparations for an attack. 

Born in 1973 in Basel, Switzerland, Oliver Jens Schmitt, professor of Southeast European history at the University of Vienna, says that the Serbian government is under great pressure and may try to organize a conflict with Kosovo. He points out that Serbia has massively rearmed in recent years. He says that the American presence in Kosovo has prevented Serbia from using these weapons and that the EU cannot replace the United States as Kosovo's defending power. 
“It would therefore be important for Kosovo to quickly have a stable government that prepares society, with all the relevant parties, for a possible conflict,” says Schmitt, who has studied Byzantium, Greek philology, modern Greek and the history of Eastern Europe in renowned centers of the German-speaking world such as Basel, Vienna, Berlin and Munich. Given the geopolitical situation, Schmitt says that now is the time to talk about preparing Kosovo as a state for a possible military conflict. According to him, instead of debates about identity, it would be more important to talk about military defense, civil defense, hospitals, emergency plans. 
The researcher who lives in Vienna has extensive research and teaching experience in various European countries. He has lectured at the universities of Munich and Bern, and for a time was also a professor at the Collège de France. Since 2017, he has been head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, while at the same time he also heads the research department for Balkan studies at the Institute for Modern and Contemporary History, the highest scientific authority in Austria. His interests in history are extremely broad, with a particular focus on the medieval years and the Adriatic region of the Balkans as well as Romania. Schmitt's contributions also extend to the medieval Albanian world, with titles such as "Venetian Arbëria", "Kosovo", "Skënderbeu" and "Albanians". In March 2022, at the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, he promoted his work, "The Balkans in the 1870th Century - A Post-Imperial History" and the five volumes of publications with archival material of the Austrian Academy of Sciences on Kosovo prepared by Schmitt and Eva Anne Frantz. The volumes include reports of Austro-Hungarian consuls on Kosovo from 1914 to XNUMX.

"Kosovo has its own culture in the political sense"

KOHA: How do you see Kosovo's identity in these 17 years of statehood?

Schmitt: Kosovo is now a stable democracy, with an established party system. Unlike Serbia, a government can function for an entire legislative term, and changes in power are possible through democratic elections. The vast majority of citizens identify with their country, for whose independence the older generation made great sacrifices. Although the international community has defined Kosovo as a multiethnic state, Kosovo is largely ethnically homogeneous, which is why Kosovo can be considered the second Albanian state in the Balkans. Within Albanian culture, Kosovo has its own culture, not in the linguistic sense, but in the political sense. Here Kosovo differs significantly from Albania, where the legacy of Enverist culture continues, while Kosovo's political culture is shaped by the common resistance against Serbian repression. This means that social trust is significantly more developed in Kosovo than in Albania; that political culture is based on the idea of ​​freedom and the struggle for freedom. So, you could say that there are two different political cultures in the Albanian world in the Balkans.

KOHA: What are your advice on Kosovo's identity journey in the future?

Schmitt: As an outside observer, I cannot and should not give advice on this – I can only analyze the debates that are being held by the citizens of Kosovo themselves – and they should be held by them. You have to decide for yourself who and how you want to be. When it comes to the issue of identity, there are debates about the literary language, specifically about the Gheg cultural heritage and how this can be integrated into the literary language. Then religion plays an important role, as political Islam is advancing in Kosovo and gaining followers, especially among the younger generation. Related to this is the question of how Kosovo positions itself between Europe and the Islamic world. But these questions must be answered by the Kosovars themselves.

"Without American protection, the EU must expect a Russian attack"

KOHA: At a time when nationalisms are on the rise in Europe and beyond, is Kosovo at risk from these winds of the return of -isms?

Schmitt: -isms are less of a problem than radical changes in geopolitics. In fact, Kosovo owes its independence to the US. Donald Trump's government is apparently no longer willing to guarantee Europe's security. This has dramatic consequences for the EU, whose states are not militarily prepared for a conflict with Russia. Without US protection, the EU must expect a Russian attack. Alongside the Republic of Moldova, Kosovo is one of the most vulnerable states in Europe. In Kosovo, the risk of war is no more seriously discussed than in other European countries. What is needed now is not debates about identity, but serious preparations for an attack. The Serbian government is under great pressure and may try to organize a conflict with Kosovo. Serbia has massively rearmed in recent years. However, the US presence in Kosovo has prevented Serbia from using these weapons. The EU cannot replace the US as Kosovo's defensive power. Therefore, it would be important for Kosovo to quickly have a stable government that, with all relevant parties, prepares society for a possible conflict.

KOHA: If Kosovo aims for its cultural identity – in terms of “Kosovar art”, “Kosovar literature” – does the possibility of a possible unification with Albania become more distant, considering that this is an old goal that is revived from time to time? What role does language play in this context?

Schmitt: If you look at the geopolitical situation, it should be about preparing Kosovo as a state for a possible military conflict. It would be more important to talk about military defense, civil defense, hospitals, emergency plans and prepare them seriously, than about language and literature.

"Society should focus on what it has in common"

KOHA: With what image should Kosovo enter the European family and how do you see this journey in these 17 years of statehood?

Schmitt: Kosovars have long been part of this family, as half of them now live in European countries. Kosovo is a transterritorial society that is not only connected to the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. The election campaign has shown this – important events took place in small Swiss towns. As for the status of Kosovo as a state, the answer seems clear to me: Kosovo was founded after a NATO intervention aimed at preventing the greatest political crime in Europe after 1945 (and before the Russian attack on Ukraine). Kosovo as a state is the result of a humanitarian intervention and the will to resist of its people. Different layers of society have contributed to this resistance, i.e. representatives of all the main parties of today. This is often forgotten – social self-organization and peaceful resistance, armed resistance and self-organization of students of the younger generation, have made Kosovo a stable democracy in regional-Balkan comparison. In other words: LDK, PDK and Vetëvendosje have made their contribution, each in their own way. This is often forgotten in the disagreements between the parties. As Kosovo faces difficult times, society should focus on what it has in common.