Albanosphere

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As here in Kosovo, the flag of Albania is a universal symbol for all Albanians.

The Albanosphäre ( Albanian  Albanosfera ) is a term for the panalbanischen communication or cultural area , the common economic, cultural, media and political exchange between the Albanians regardless of their country of residence. In addition to the Albanians in their traditional settlement area ( Albania , Kosovo , North Macedonia , South Serbia , Montenegro ), some authors also include some or all of the Albanians of the diaspora (especially Western and Central Europe , Italy , Greece and the USA ).

The highway from Albania to Kosovo, the road of the nation , made it possible for the Albanians to come together in both countries and is considered a symbol of the Albanosphere.

The exchange between Albanians in the individual countries used to be very modest. Not only was there a lack of traffic routes, but also entry into, exit from and travel in communist Albania were hardly possible, as was communication with Albania. Since 1991, however, the Albanian community has linked itself more and more across borders. In the meantime, the roads to and from Albania in particular are better (cf. “ Road of the Nation ”), so that the centers of the Albanian settlement area are only a few hours' drive apart and passenger and freight traffic can take place quickly. In addition, the Albanian media ( electronic media , television ) are also used outside Albania, and a large number of media have emerged which are aimed at Albanians around the world. This sometimes led to social and political views that are supported by a majority of Albanians regardless of their place of residence.

"The media revolution of the Internet has merged the spatially dispersed language communities into a pan-Albanian communication community."

- Oliver Jens Schmitt : The Albanians: a story between Orient and Occident

All Albanians identify with the flag of Albania , which can be seen wherever Albanians live. Sport - numerous Kosovar Albanians compete in Albanian national teams - also contributes to creating an all-Albanian identity. The same applies to singing competitions such as the Eurovision Song Contest , in which Kosovar women represented Albania. Tirana became the “cultural capital” of all Albanians. The exchange in the Albano sphere also shapes common values, such as role models .

The Albanosphere moves in parallel with the emerging overall Albanian nationalism . In contrast to the political demand for Greater Albania , the Albanosphere already exists across borders. But it also includes political, bi- and multinational cooperation across borders at various levels. The governments of Albania and Kosovo in particular are intensifying their relations more and more, hold joint ministerial meetings and, for example, jointly publish school books for emigrated Albanians. In addition, Tirana repeatedly declares itself as the advocate of all Albanians, who campaigns for the recognition of Kosovo or also urges the Albanian parties of Macedonia to reach an agreement.

As with the jugosphere , however, it is not politics but society that drives development. Despite everything, the closer cooperation between Albanians is always viewed with great skepticism by the neighbors.

The term jugosphere is attributed to Tim Judah. Although the idea of ​​the jugosphere in particular gained greater media attention at the time, Tim Judah had already addressed the albanosphere in his first article. He stated that the Albanians from the Yugoslav successor states would sometimes move in several “spheres”, sometimes in the Jugosphere and in the Albanosphere. The albanosphere is therefore not a derived analogy of the jugosphere, as is claimed in some places.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Andreas Ernst: USA and the Balkans: Return of the "American Friend" . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . No. 121 , May 27, 2017, p. 5 ( nzz.ch [accessed on May 27, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Douglas Muir: Some thoughts on Greater Albania, Part 2. In: A Fistful Of Euros. April 20, 2008, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c Cyrill Stieger: Nationalism in the Balkans: The Albanians are moving closer together . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . March 23, 2013 ( nzz.ch [accessed on May 28, 2017]): “The Albanians, as is customary everywhere in the Balkans, mostly define the nation in terms of ethnicity rather than citizenship. The flag of Albania, the black double-headed eagle on a red background, flies wherever Albanians live. The identification with the nation overlays that with the state. "
  4. ↑ a b Tim Judah: The Yugosphere . In: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (Ed.): In Focus . June 2, 2009 ( org.rs [accessed May 27, 2017]).
  5. ↑ a b Oliver Jens Schmitt: The Albanians: a story between Orient and Occident (=  Beck'sche series . No. 6031 ). Beck, Nördlingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-63031-6 , epilogue: Two Albanian States - Transterritorial Albanian Societies (2011), p. 177 .
  6. ^ A b Andreas Ernst: New Albanian self-confidence: The optimistic nation . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 27, 2012, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed on May 28, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Fatos Lubonja : The Acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj and Its Perception in the Albanosphere . In: Südosteuropa Gesellschaft eV (Ed.): Südosteuropa Mitteilungen . No. 2 , 2013, p. 80-84 .
  8. ↑ Dritan Sulçebe: Albania and Kosovo. In quest of a Common Future . Ed .: Albanian Institute for International Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Tirana 2016, p. 40 ( aiis-albania.org [PDF; accessed May 27, 2017]).
  9. ^ Tim Judah: Singing for Kosovo. In: The Economist. January 7, 2012, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  10. ^ A b c Andreas Ernst: The artist with a fine hand for politics: Edi Rama's election victory in Albania is an opportunity for the Balkans . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 26, 2017, p. 7 ( nzz.ch [accessed June 30, 2017]).
  11. ^ Adem Ferizaj: Albanian rap and hyper-masculinity. In: openDemocracy.net 50.50. February 14, 2017, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  12. ^ Christian Mady: Current research on the history and society of Kosovo. International workshop for young scientists . In: H-Soz-u-Kult . November 2013 ( h-net.org [accessed May 27, 2017]).
  13. ↑ Valerie Hopkins: The prickly job of being Tirana's mayor. In: Prishtina Insight. September 21, 2016, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Douglas Muir: Some thoughts on Greater Albania, Part 1. In: A Fistful Of Euros. April 7, 2008, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  15. ^ Results of the joint meeting of Albania - Kosovo governments. In: European Western Balkans. November 27, 2017, accessed July 7, 2019 .
  16. ^ Altin Selimi: First meeting of the Albania-Kosovo Joint Commission for the approval of textbooks for Diaspora. In: Agjencia Kombëtare e Diasporës. June 5, 2019, accessed July 7, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Andreas Ernst: In the Jugo sphere, what once belonged together grows together . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 12, 2009 ( nzz.ch [accessed May 27, 2017]).
  18. ↑ Darko Janjevic: Greater Albania - bogeyman or a pipe dream? In: Deutsche Welle. May 4, 2017, accessed May 28, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Ljubica Spaskovska: The "Yugo-sphere" (Edinburgh Center for Commercial Law Blog, September 28, 2009) ( Memento of 18 January 2012 at the Internet Archive )
  20. ↑ Tim Judah: Entering the Yugosphere . In: The Economist . August 20, 2009 ( economist.com [accessed May 28, 2017]).
  21. ↑ Andreas Ernst: The birth of the «Jugosphere» . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . February 1, 2010 ( nzz.ch [accessed on May 28, 2017]).
  22. ^ Tim Judah: Good news from the Western Balkans: Yugoslavia is Dead. Long live the Yugosphere . Ed .: London School of Economics and Political Science (=  LSEE Papers on South Eastern Europe ). London November 2009, p. 21 ( lse.ac.uk [PDF; accessed on May 28, 2017]).
  23. Jump up ↑ Jani Korhonen, Maxim Makartsev, Milica Petruševska, Ljudmil Spasov: Ethnic and linguistic minorities in the border region of Albania, Greece, and Macedonia: An overview of legal and societal status . In: Maxim Makartsev, Max Wahlström (eds.): Slavic Helsingiensia . No. 49 . Helsinki 2016, ISBN 978-951-51-2520-0 , pp. 35 ( helsinki.fi [PDF; accessed May 28, 2017]).