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The world woke up to the conflict between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians too late - when Kosovo erupted into full-scale war in the spring of 1999
But many Balkans watchers were surprised war in Kosovo did not happen sooner. In Civil Resistance in Kosovo, Howard Clark argues that war had been avoided previously because of the self-restraint exercised by the Kosovo Albanians with their policy of nonviolence. Prior to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)'s taking up of arms, Kosovo Albanians had had a long history of civil resistance in the face of Serbian ultra-nationalism. They were committed to a strategy of nonviolent resistance even as they were harassed by Serbian police, vilified in racial terms, & excluded from jobs, education & state benefits. Left out of the 1995 Dayton Agreement, Kosovo became a breeding ground for frustration & ethnic strife, ultimately leading to war & the NATO bombings. The author traces the historical evolution of the Kosovo Albanians' struggle, from peaceful demonstrations to the KLA backlash, covering the 1980s to the present day. He shows the beginnings of nonviolent struggle in the miners' hunger strike in 1989 & the Campaign to Reconcile Blood Feuds, & its growth with the construction of parallel systems for education & health. In assessing the achievements & limitations of nonviolence, Clark explains why the policy was ultimately abandoned & how it could have been made more effective. Importantly, this book draws on the lessons of Kosovo to suggest considerations for future peace-building.
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