Imaginaries and Media Consumptions of Otherness in Kosovo: Memories of the Spanish Civil War, Latin American telenovelas and Spanish football (original) (raw)

2021, Local and International Determinants of Kosovo's Statehood - Vol II

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways in which Kosovar Albanians perceive, feel and consume Spanishness in everyday life vis-à-vis how they and their country are perceived in Spain. It seeks to explain a paradox discovered during the research process: regardless of Spain’s non-recognition of Kosovo and a clear lack of Spanish institutional interest in the region, Kosovar Albanian interviewees display highly appreciative attitudes towards, and consumption of, Spanishness in terms of culture and society, which extend beyond a focus on the country of Spain and its politics alone. Underpinned by insights from symbolic interactionist theory, current developments in the study of everyday nationalism as well as classic, Foucauldian discourse analysis, three key tropes of identifying the Spanish-speaking world emerged as relevant: (1) Albanian historical engagement in the Spanish Civil War; (2) Latin American telenovelas (soap operas); and (3) contemporary global football. Religion as a factor of identification or differentiation, however, is conspicuously absent. In contrast, in the Spanish-speaking world perceptions of Kosovo, its people and culture, where any knowledge exists at all, emerge as prejudicial, featuring associations in terms of war, Islam and other Balkanist stereotypes. Often, Albania and Kosovo are conflated in these perceptions. The analysis considers how symbolic hierarchies, situated within wider geo-political asymmetries of power, might inform unequal knowledge about, and sympathies for, each other. It also pays attention to possible generational variations of the perspectives discovered in, and about, Kosovo. The study is based on critical ethnography, a qualitative method including multi-sited text and discourse analyses, field observations and in-depth, semi-structured, open, theme-guided interviews with Kosovar Albanians in Kosovo’s capital, Prishtina in September 2019. In addition, several interviews were conducted of Kosovars in Spain, and with Spanish expats living in Kosovo, between June and October 2019.

Key takeaways

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  1. Kosovar Albanians exhibit strong cultural appreciation for Spain despite its non-recognition of Kosovo.
  2. Key tropes of Spanish cultural engagement include the Spanish Civil War, telenovelas, and football.
  3. Religious identity is largely downplayed in perceptions of Spanishness and Albanianness.
  4. The study employed critical ethnography, involving 10 interviews across Kosovo and Spain.
  5. Generational differences affect the significance of historical engagement with the Spanish Civil War.

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