This article originally published by the New York Transatlantic.
The concept of “ethnic cleansing” was introduced in the 1990s, when it was used to describe the ethnic-based population transfers, destruction of cultural monuments and murders committed during the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Regardless of its form—ranging from marginalizing the language to genocide—ethnic cleansing is inherently violent, disruptive and destructive. Yet last week, a New York Times op-ed suggested that the swap of northern Kosovo for some or all of Serbia’s Presevo Valley “would bring peace” to the two states, at odds since Kosovo unilaterally seceded from Serbia in 2008.
This claim reveals a profound naïveté about the current political and social realities in both countries and their neighbors. It also ignores the region’s sordid history of “peaceful ethnic cleansing,” a concept long proven oxymoronic. The author of the op-ed—Charles Kupchan, a former member of the US National Security Council— concedes that the forceful creation of monoethnic communities might sound “morally offensive.” And there is very good reason for it.
Kosovo proclaimed its independence following decades of marginalization and discrimination as first part of Yugoslavia and then rump-Yugoslav Serbia and Montenegro. In the years since, conflict between the countries has simmered, fueled by claims of mistreatment of ethnic Serbs living within Kosovar territory and of Serb interference in the state’s politics. Further, nationalists in Serbia maintain that Kosovo, as the origin site of the Orthodox faith, is the birthplace of the Serbian nation and is their rightful territory.
The United States and European Union would be violating the countries’ sovereignty if they were to block presidents Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo from peacefully reaching a deal and garnering domestic support for it. However, the international endorsement which the NYT op-ed encourages would set a dangerous precedent for irredentist and nationalist movements in neighboring Bosnia and Macedonia.
The fact that the Serbian government is considering land swaps shows a certain willingness to compromise. Mere years ago, relinquishing any part of Kosovo would have been anathema. However, Serbia’s interest in claiming territories inhabited predominantly by ethnic Serbs evokes the aspirations of Slobodan Milošević, Serbia’s president from 1989 to 2000. Milošević’s dream of establishing a “Greater Serbia” accelerated the disintegration of Yugoslavia and became the pretext for ruthless genocidal campaigns across the region. The apparent renewal of this vision blows a dog whistle for Serb nationalists both in Serbia and Bosnia.