Home / IBDP History :Prescribed subject 5: Conflict and intervention -Kosovo (1989–2002)-IB style Questions HLSL Paper 1

IBDP History :Prescribed subject 5: Conflict and intervention -Kosovo (1989–2002)-IB style Questions HLSL Paper 1

Prescribed subject 5 : Conflict and intervention

Read sources Q to T and answer questions 17 to 20.
The sources and questions relate to Case study 2: Kosovo (1989–2002) – Causes of the conflict: Ethnic
tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians, rising Albanian nationalism.

Source Q          

Politicians manipulate public fears in order to suit their own needs to stay in power … An antidemocratic
coalition within Serbia began to formulate a nationalist ideology and produce propaganda. Serbs
were said to be the victims of Albanians in Kosovo; they needed the protection of a strong leader like
Slobodan Milosevic … In an atmosphere of economic and political insecurity, the victimization ideology
begun in Kosovo caught on quickly …
Over time, the nationalism became radicalized: difference was framed in terms of perceived physical
differences in skin, nose, ears, sexuality … A gendered imagery of Albanian men and women was
adopted. In the Serbian and Yugoslav presses, Albanian men were accused of violence against women,
although Kosovo had the lowest reported incidents of sexual violence in Yugoslavia. Albanian women
were portrayed as mere baby factories, despite statistics indicating that childbirth rates of urban Albanian
women and those of other urban women in Yugoslavia were nearly identical. Accused in the past of
being culturally inferior, Albanians were increasingly depicted as also being genetically inferior.

Source R           

160 seventeen-year-old ethnic Serbian and Hungarian High School students living in Serbia were asked
questions about their ability to accept other nations. Given 50 proposed attributes, both positive and
negative, students chose the ones they considered typical of each nation.

These are the Serbian students’ perceptions of Albanians.

     

Source S           

I was a police officer for 32 years but I had to leave … My neighbour was watering his yard and then he
would “forget” to turn off the water and my basement would be full of water. Then they would go through
my yard shouting: “Go, move out, what are you doing here?” … It was not safe to walk during the night.
Kids were often assaulted and beaten [by Albanians] … My kids had problems at work. Serbs were
never given promotions, so my children moved away…
Resolving the conflict in Kosovo depends mostly on foreign policy. Albanians have huge support from
outside and therefore they don’t agree to living jointly with the Serbs. They want an ethnically clean
Kosovo. If they get independence, they will expel the few remaining Serbs from there …
Their natality [birth rate] is, I think, the greatest in Europe. Every woman of theirs gives birth to ten to
fifteen children, and very few Serbs have more than two or three kids. Emigrants from Albania were
coming, too. Even the SUP [Secretariat of Internal Affairs, the Serbian police] was buying properties in
Kosovo for them.

Source T           

Hostility between the communities was aggravated in the 1990s by poverty, which in turn became
increasingly difficult to redress [remedy] because of the Albanian population explosion coupled with
Yugoslavia’s growing economic crisis. Increasing numbers of Serbs sought their fortune elsewhere,
and in villages with small Serb populations the more Serbs that left, the more insecure were those that
remained behind. They felt uncomfortable surrounded by a hostile Albanian population. Albanians
claim that Serbs began to leave for economic reasons, and Serbs that they did so because they were
threatened, and even attacked. There is truth in both arguments. Anti-Serb graffiti were daubed
[painted] on the walls along with demands for a republic. The Yugoslav police and army clamped down
harshly when angry unemployed Albanian youths demonstrated.

Questions

1. (a) How, according to Source Q, were Albanians portrayed by Serbian propaganda? 
      (b) What does Source R suggest about the perceptions some Serbian high school students had of Albanians in 1986?

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans.

(a) How, according to Source Q, were Albanians portrayed by Serbian propaganda? 

• As a danger to the Serbs in Kosovo.
• Albanian men were portrayed as being violent to women.
• Albanian women were portrayed as “baby factories.”
• Albanians were portrayed as being inferior to Serbs.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [3].

(b) What does Source R suggest about the perceptions some Serbian high school students had of Albanians in 1986? 

• Most perceptions were negative.
• Many of the attributes given aligned with stereotypes.
• Not all the suggested attributes were accepted equally by students.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [2].

2. With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source S
for an historian studying the rise of ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians during the 1990s.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans.

With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source S for an historian studying the rise of ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians during the 1990s. 

Value:
• It is a testimony from a Serb who cited hostility between Serbs and Albanians for the reason for his emigration.
• The source offers insight into Serbian perspectives on the causes of the rise of ethnic nationalism.
• In an interview with an outsider, in this case an American researcher, Bosko may have felt able to reveal his true feelings.

Limitations:
• As a testimony offered in 1995, his views were an immediate response to an environment of ethnic tensions and nationalist propaganda and cannot help an historian’s understanding of the subsequent escalation of tensions.
• As a testimony offered by a Serb who left Kosovo, his views may be influenced by a desire to victimize Serbs.
• As a testimony offered to an American, his views may be exaggerated to attract foreign support and cannot help an historian’s understanding of the subsequent escalation of ethnic tensions.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. The focus of the question is on the value and limitations of the source. If only value or limitations are discussed, award a maximum of [2]. Origin, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the value and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the value or the limitations.

3. Compare and contrast what Sources S and T reveal about the relations between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans.

Compare and contrast what Sources S and T reveal about relations between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo.

Comparisons:
• Both sources suggest that Serbs felt insecure living side by side with Albanians, which contributed to Serbian emigration from Kosovo.
• Both sources suggest that Serbs may have left Kosovo in search of better opportunities.
• Both sources imply that the demographics of the Albanian population meant that the Serbs feared that they would be outnumbered.

Contrasts:
• Source S exclusively describes Albanian hostility to Serbs whereas Source T offers a more balanced account outlining Albanian fears.
• Source S suggests that economic problems were restricted to Serbs living in Kosovo (for example, they were never given promotions while government was buying properties for Albanians in Kosovo) whereas Source T suggests that poverty and economic crisis were generalized in Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
• Source T suggests that problems stemmed from poverty whereas Source S suggests that they also stemmed from an Albanian desire for ethnic cleansing.

4. Using the sources and your own knowledge, examine the reasons for the rise of ethnic
nationalism in Kosovo during the early 1990s.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans.

Using the sources and your own knowledge, examine the reasons for the rise of ethnic nationalism in Kosovo during the early 1990s.

Indicative content

Source Q                          Explains the rise of Serbian nationalism as promoted by political elites, in an atmosphere of political and economic insecurity.

Source R                          Suggests that longstanding ethnic stereotypes held by the Serbs may have contributed to the rise of ethnic nationalism. Thus, this source may be seen to suggest that ethnic nationalism among the Serbs was on the rise from the 1980s.

Source S                          Suggests that Albanian violence against the Serbian population living in Kosovo may have contributed to the rise of Serbian nationalism and may have allowed for the “victimization ideology” to catch on. Kosovar governmental policies and Albanian immigration into Kosovo may have encouraged the rise of Serbian nationalism.

Source T                          Explains the rise in ethnic tensions as a consequence of economic difficulties, coupled with the Albanian population explosion in Kosovo. Suggests that ethnic violence (perpetuated by both Albanians and Serbs) contributed to the rise of mutually exclusive nationalism.

Own knowledge           Candidates may discuss the impact of the 1990 constitutional reform (which abolished Kosovo’s autonomy) in pushing Kosovar Albanians into a more radical national spirit. Candidates may discuss the impact of legislation passed through 1990-1992 to “Serbianize” Kosovo (restrictions over property of the land; dismissal of Albanians in the public sector, civil service and managerial jobs; purges of Albanians in the police force) in promoting Albanian nationalism within Kosovo. Candidates may also discuss the impact of the imposition of a Serbian curriculum in Kosovo’s educational institutions (including the Pristina University) in promoting Serbian nationalism among Kosovo’s youth and further radicalizing nationalistic Kosovar Albanians. Candidates may discuss the role of the parallel educational system, funded by Rugova’s government-in-exile and international donations in promoting Albanian nationalism within Kosovo. Candidates may refer to the activities of the KLA as a provocation for Serbian retaliation (in an effort to garner foreign intervention). Candidates may also discuss the impact of the Yugoslav wars on the rise of ethnic nationalism.

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