Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 421-435).

The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini is the most famous and comprehensive compilation of Albanian customary law. For centuries it strictly governed social behavior and everyday life among Albanians in different historical periods. Even if the Kanun is not legal today, it is widely respected and still practiced in parts of Albania and Kosova. The aim with this thesis is to study how Kosova Albanians in Sweden relate to the customary laws concerning family and marriage in the Kanun. In order to reach the aim, a qualitative research method was used. We have conducted seven semi-structured interviews with Kosova Albanians living in Sweden, more precisely in Helsingborg, and compared their answers to the traditional laws in the Kanun. The theoretical framework for the thesis is based on the concepts ethnicity and culture, Berger’s and Luckmann’s theory on the social construction of reality and Baumann’s conception of the idea of ethnicity as cultural identity. In our study we found that the Kanun is a good example on how culture is institutionalized and socially constructed. Our results show that the laws stipulated in the sections family and marriage are still practiced with certain changes by Kosova Albanians in Sweden and that there are some gender differences in how the informants perceive their ‘reality’.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This study focuses on the history of relations between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo during a relatively extensive period, starting with the demise of the Ottoman Empire to present. It examines the process of the division of Kosovo society along ethnic, cultural, and religious lines that eventually made the seizure of power possible by nationalistic conservatives. The study investigates both Serbian and Albanian nationalism and speculates on why nothing had been done by the elite to contain the conflict in the first place. It seeks to explore the origins of the modern conflict and identifies the decisive factors that influenced the development of contradicting positions of two peoples that eventually led to open hostilities in 1998-99. The thesis employs a descriptive approach and reviews contemporary scholarly literature dedicated to the subject. / Major, The Ministry of Ukraine of Emergencies and Affairs of Population Protection from Consequences of Chernobyl Catastrophe

La thèse veut revenir sur l'histoire complexe du Kosmet en étudiant trois de ses composantes majeures abordées dans une perspective historique : à savoir la question du Kosovo (qui trouve ses racines dans une histoire de longue durée), la crise du Kosovo (telle qu'elle va se nouer dans les années 1980) et la réaction des grandes puissances européennes face à cette crise. Cette approche permet de voir la naissance, l'essor, l'aggravation et, enfin, l'internationalisation de ce problème ; ce faisant, cette approche permettra aussi de montrer l'évolution des nationalismes serbe et albanais ainsi que la formation et les transformations des États nationaux serbe et albanais, c'est­-à-dire de se pencher sur l'émergence et le développement des deux forces motrices, serbe et albanaise, qui jouèrent un rôle clef dans la question du Kosovo ; et elle permettra également de voir comment les grandes puissances européennes, dans le contexte de la disparition de la Yougoslavie socialiste, ont réagi à la crise et ont été progressivement partie prenante de la question du Kosovo et de son règlement. / Kosovo is the disputed borderland between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians. The Serbs refer to Kosovo as the cradle of the Serb nation. The anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo Plain is the most important date in the Serbian national calendar. In 1981 there were major student protests in Pristina, followed by demands for Kosovo to be given republic status. The Serbian Communist leader S. Milosevic became president of Serbia in 1987 and in 1989 the Serbian parliament passed constitutional amendments reasserting Serbian control over Kosovo. In 1998 the Kosovo Liberation Anny unleashed a major guerrilla offensive. The conflict gained widespread international attention and was resolved with the intervention of the NATO.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Civil Military Relations))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Donald Abenheim. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-67). Also available online.

This thesis studies the experiences of Albanian and Bosnian Muslim immigrants in Canada in the post-9/11 period. It draws upon a boundary-making framework and employs qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the destigmatization strategies of Balkan Muslims, as well the national and cultural repertoires that enable and facilitate their utilization. The study yields several important findings. The quantitative findings show that Albanian and Bosnian Muslim immigrants in general show lower levels of attachment to religion compared to other Muslim immigrants. Also, many members of these ethnic groups appear to have resorted to the strategy of distancing and/or disidentifying from Muslim identification and/or faith in favour of identifying as irreligious as a way of coping with rising Islamophobia in Canadian society. The qualitative findings show that the move towards distancing/disidentification is due to a dissonance between the cultural repertoires of the meaning(s) of “Muslim” in participants’ homeland versus that of the host society. Discursively, the process of distancing/disidentification occurs mostly by drawing religious and, relatedly, moral and value boundaries from other, mostly non-European and racialized Muslims. Importantly, despite having been exposed to instances of Islamophobia, participants overwhelmingly reported that their communities have not been significantly affected by anti-Muslim sentiments. I argue that the Albanian and Bosnian Muslims’ lack of religious signs, bolstered by their “whiteness” and society’s general unfamiliarity with Muslims and the Balkans, have greatly contributed to the perceived lack of religion-based discrimination. This study thus demonstrates that Islamophobia is to a significant extent an issue of racism, and that, relatedly, “race” continues to be a weighty marker of differentiation in Canadian society, where skin colour and appearance function as a religious sign.

Cette thèse étudie la couverture de l’actualité en Macédoine faite par la presse internationale et albanophone pendant le conflit ethnique armé de 2001. Elle explore un corpus multilingue [français, anglais et albanais] composé de dépêches d’agences de presse [AFP et Reuters] et d’articles journaux français [Le Monde et Libération], américains [The New York Times et The Washington Post] et albanophones de Macédoine [Flaka, Fakti et Lobi]. Issue d’un cadre théorique et méthodologique complexe, l’analyse de ce corpus repose sur les traditions françaises et nord-américaines de la recherche en sciences de la communication. L’analyse du discours, combinée avec un matériel recueilli lors des interviews des journalistes et avec l’analyse statistique et lexicométrique de contenu, a produit des données qui sont interprétées dans le cadre de la théorie de l’agenda-setting. Les résultats de cette analyse ont permis de répondre à nos questions de recherche : Quelle était l’attention accordée à l’actualité macédonienne par la presse internationale ? Quelles sont la nature et l’importance des informations fournies par les journalistes qui ont couvert cet événement sur le terrain ? Comment cette actualité a-t-elle été traitée par la presse locale de langue albanaise en Macédoine ?Une approche géopolitique et historique fournit le cadre de cette thèse. / Cette thèse étudie la couverture de l’actualité en Macédoine faite par la presse internationale et albanophone pendant le conflit ethnique armé de 2001. Elle explore un corpus multilingue [français, anglais et albanais] composé de dépêches d’agences de presse [AFP et Reuters] et d’articles journaux français [Le Monde et Libération], américains [The New York Times et The Washington Post] et albanophones de Macédoine [Flaka, Fakti et Lobi]. Issue d’un cadre théorique et méthodologique complexe, l’analyse de ce corpus repose sur les traditions françaises et nord-américaines de la recherche en sciences de la communication. L’analyse du discours, combinée avec un matériel recueilli lors des interviews des journalistes et avec l’analyse statistique et lexicométrique de contenu, a produit des données qui sont interprétées dans le cadre de la théorie de l’agenda-setting.Les résultats de cette analyse ont permis de répondre à nos questions de recherche : Quelle était l’attention accordée à l’actualité macédonienne par la presse internationale ? Quelles sont la nature et l’importance des informations fournies par les journalistes qui ont couvert cet événement sur le terrain ? Comment cette actualité a-t-elle été traitée par la presse locale de langue albanaise en Macédoine ?Une approche géopolitique et historique fournit le cadre de cette thèse.

The thesis focuses on the shaping of the national history of Albanians during the Albanian national movement. The time frame of the study is epoch between 1854 when Johann Georg von Hahn published Albanian Studies, and 1912 remarking proclamation of Albanian independence. The main goal of the paper is to introduce the structure of Albanian historical narrative in its romantic phase. For this purpose, the content analysis of works of seven main representatives of the national movement was used. Selected authors include: Jeronim de Rada, Pashko Vasa, Thimi Mitko, Spiro Risto Dine, Sami Frashëri, Naim Frashëri, Jani Vreto. The thesis explains the timeline of historical narrative and the perspective on the role of religion and religious communities. The study also covers creating the pantheon of national heroes and perception of neighbouring nations. The construct of the historical narrative is described in the context of beginnings of European scientific research about Albanian history. A reader will also get familiar with elementary ideological development of the Albanian national movement on the background of pivotal historical moments. The attachment of the thesis represents short biographies of selected authors.

No description available.

In this study, Albanian migrants' choices to settle in the UK are addressed. The leading question is why they migrate from Albania and why they choose to enter the UK clandestinely instead of other European countries, where they can travel with a passport (do not need a Visa). The study also assesses their expectations of the UK and future intentions for residency. Data were gathered using a mixed-methods research design with a pragmatic approach by analyzing quantitative surveys, further supported by six qualitative follow-up interviews. The results indicated that the socioeconomic and political conditions in Albania were the primary factor pushing the migrants to migrate. The United Kingdom is chosen as a migration destination because of the general view of the country in terms of economic prospects and quality of life. The findings also revealed that social networks were an essential determinant in the decision of destination selection, shaping the image of the destination country. Thus, regardless of their undocumented status, most participants do not plan to return to their home country.