Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia, Russia, and other UN member states rejected the declaration. It was known as the Kingdom of Dardinia for 300 years until the Roman Empire absorbed it in the first century BCE. It fell under the control of the Byzantines after the Roman Empire split, then Bulgaria, and Serbia in the thirteenth century until the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans in 1389. Although there was no clear winner of the conflict, 1389 is a significant year for far-right Serbian nationalists because they view it as a valiant stand by their ancestors against an expanding Islamic influence that was creeping its way into Europe.

Kosovo officially fell under Ottoman rule in early 1449 and remained that way until the aftermath of the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars when it was once again under the control of Serbia. In 1918, the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes was created, which also included Kosovo and the Kingdom of Montenegro. The name was officially changed to Yugoslavia in 1929.

In 1974, Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito’s constitutional changes went into effect, recognizing the status of the Social Autonomous Province of Kosovo, granting it full autonomy just short of republican status. The reason why Tito didn’t give Kosovo full autonomy is that he was afraid of an Albanian nationalist uprising that would have threatened the preservation of the entire federal republic. Throughout his nearly three decades as a dictator, he was able to successfully quell nationalist movements in the republics by purging sympathizers in the ranks of government.

Tito’s death in 1980 and a burgeoning economic crisis in the following years gave way to rising nationalist movements across Yugoslavia, most notably in Serbia, where they became paranoid that a breakup of Yugoslavia would inevitably lead to the oppression of Serbian minority groups that were scattered around the other republics. A major turning point came in 1986 when the opportunistic Yugoslav politician Slobodan Milošević issued a speech to Serbs in northern Kosovo at the location of that fateful battle in 1389 that reinforced their paranoia. In what became known as the Gazimestan speech, Milošević took advantage of brewing tensions between Serbs and Kosovars that had been rising since the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences published a dubious report claiming that Tito had systematically discriminated against the Serbs with his policies and that Kosovo’s Albanian majority was threatening them with genocide.

Milošević’s populism ushered in a recrudescence of fascism in Europe. After the Dayton Accord ended the Bosnian occupation and genocide, Milošević directed his attention back to the Albanians in Kosovo and began fighting the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a nationalist militia whose goal was to form a “Greater Albania” by unifying the two countries. The brutal conflict resulted in war crimes from both sides and ended with a two-and-a-half-month bombing campaign by NATO forces in 1999 across Belgrade and parts of Serbia. Milošević agreed to a ceasefire and the troops he pulled from Kosovo were replaced by NATO-led forces.

Kosovo finally declared independence in 2008, something that Serbia, Russia, and several other UN countries to this day refuse to recognize. The country has faced barriers to entry into the European Union, mostly because of Serbia’s refusal of recognition, which, ironically, is preventing them from entering as well. But even if one decides to argue that Kosovo has no right to declare independence, there is compelling evidence that Kosovo has never legally been part of Serbia since the end of the Ottoman Empire. According to historian Noel Malcolm in his book The Short History of Kosovo, Serbia never incorporated Kosovo. According to Malcolm:

“When Kosovo was conquered in 1912-13, Serbia was operating under its constitution of 1903. Article Four of that constitution clearly states that no change to the frontiers of Serbia can be valid unless it has been agreed by the Grand National Assembly - not the Ordinary Assembly or parliament, but a special enlarged assembly summoned to deal with constitutional matters. No such Grand National Assembly was ever convened to discuss or ratify the extension of Serbia's borders to include Kosovo and Macedonia.' Some might wish to argue that, even if the correct procedures were not followed so far as Serbia's internal constitutional requirements were concerned, nevertheless the territories were properly annexed in terms of international law under the treaty-making powers of the king. But the strange truth is that Kosovo was not legally incorporated into Serbia by the standards of international law either.”

He goes on to point out that a series of treaties drafted between 1913 and 1925 that included Serbia, the Ottomans, and other Balkan countries were either improperly signed or ratified. The Albanian population of Kosovo never legally became Serbian citizens but they did eventually become Yugoslav ones.

Today, Kosovo is still fighting for its place in the European Union and recognition from every UN member state as well. I was only able to visit Pristina for a day, so here is a short tour of the city: