Abstract
Unprecedented levels of displacement make the return of refugees and internally displaced populations a critical challenge, with post-conflict minority return especially complex. This article investigates the return process in Kosovo to identify what supports and hinders sustainability. For nearly two decades the Government of Kosovo and international partners have supported the return of minorities displaced during the 1998–1999 conflict and March 2004 riots. We draw on interviews with all major stakeholder groups in return programming and on indicative survey data from 499 returnees. Using a framework adapted from Black, Koser and Munk (‘Understanding Voluntary Return’), we focus on the Kosovo return process in recent years. The survey results indicate some sustainability but high differentiation in returnees’ satisfaction. This warrants concern, as differences in returnee perspectives run along already conflictual ethnic and spatial fault lines. In post-conflict settings, sustainable return and reintegration require more than the provision of services–they require nuanced understanding of how the shadow of conflict shapes returnee experiences. Finally, we question the orthodoxy of return discourse and highlight critical factors to support sustainable return elsewhere.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 403-425 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Conflict, Security and Development |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 23 Jul 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
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Keywords
- Kosovo
- Refugee return
- durable solution
- minority return
- sustainable return
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Political Science and International Relations
Cite this
Ethnic minorities and sustainable refugee return and reintegration in Kosovo. / Ozerdem, Alpaslan; Payne, Laura.
In: Conflict, Security and Development, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2019, p. 403-425.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethnic minorities and sustainable refugee return and reintegration in Kosovo
AU - Ozerdem, Alpaslan
AU - Payne, Laura
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Unprecedented levels of displacement make the return of refugees and internally displaced populations a critical challenge, with post-conflict minority return especially complex. This article investigates the return process in Kosovo to identify what supports and hinders sustainability. For nearly two decades the Government of Kosovo and international partners have supported the return of minorities displaced during the 1998–1999 conflict and March 2004 riots. We draw on interviews with all major stakeholder groups in return programming and on indicative survey data from 499 returnees. Using a framework adapted from Black, Koser and Munk (‘Understanding Voluntary Return’), we focus on the Kosovo return process in recent years. The survey results indicate some sustainability but high differentiation in returnees’ satisfaction. This warrants concern, as differences in returnee perspectives run along already conflictual ethnic and spatial fault lines. In post-conflict settings, sustainable return and reintegration require more than the provision of services–they require nuanced understanding of how the shadow of conflict shapes returnee experiences. Finally, we question the orthodoxy of return discourse and highlight critical factors to support sustainable return elsewhere.
AB - Unprecedented levels of displacement make the return of refugees and internally displaced populations a critical challenge, with post-conflict minority return especially complex. This article investigates the return process in Kosovo to identify what supports and hinders sustainability. For nearly two decades the Government of Kosovo and international partners have supported the return of minorities displaced during the 1998–1999 conflict and March 2004 riots. We draw on interviews with all major stakeholder groups in return programming and on indicative survey data from 499 returnees. Using a framework adapted from Black, Koser and Munk (‘Understanding Voluntary Return’), we focus on the Kosovo return process in recent years. The survey results indicate some sustainability but high differentiation in returnees’ satisfaction. This warrants concern, as differences in returnee perspectives run along already conflictual ethnic and spatial fault lines. In post-conflict settings, sustainable return and reintegration require more than the provision of services–they require nuanced understanding of how the shadow of conflict shapes returnee experiences. Finally, we question the orthodoxy of return discourse and highlight critical factors to support sustainable return elsewhere.
KW - Kosovo
KW - Refugee return
KW - durable solution
KW - minority return
KW - sustainable return
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071067706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14678802.2019.1631601
DO - 10.1080/14678802.2019.1631601
M3 - Article
VL - 19
SP - 403
EP - 425
JO - Conflict, Security and Development
JF - Conflict, Security and Development
SN - 1467-8802
IS - 4
ER -