News:                   

- Blog ! . All commentaries will be published here. [24.10.06]

- The AppleTree.Poem about understanding. [21.09.05]

- To-stemthet. Poem about togetherness. [15.12.04]

- Transforming Ethnic Nationalism - the politics of ethno-nationalistic sentiments in Kosovo published here in full version (205 pages) in PDF format. [31.05.03]

- Is Kosovo Modern Enough? Article written for the JAVA Magazine. [19.04.02]

- Field Research in Conflict Societies - Methodological Problems. Article for the Post-Graduate Student's Year Book 2002. [08.04.02]

- The Potential of the 'Kosovar' Identity in Transforming Ethnic Nationalism in Kosovo. Paper presented at the Popular Culture Association Conference in New Mexico, USA. [14.02.02]

- The concept of Ethnicity, State and Nationalism applied on Kosovo. Written for JAVA in Kosovo. [28.01.02]

- Chapter 1 - Introduction of thesis on "Transforming Ethnic Nationalism" Draft v. 3.1 [22.01.02]

- Transformimi i Nacionalizmit Etnik-Bashkimit Etnik si dhe Mundësia e Paraqitjes së Identitetit 'Kosovar' [Transforming Ethni Nationalism and the Formation and Potential of the 'Kosovar' Identity]. Published in JAVA Magazine in the Albanian dialect 'Gheg' (as spoken in Kosovo) [02.01.02]

-The Norwegian Language Debate. Written for JAVA magazine in Kosovo that promotes the usage of the Northern Albanian 'Gheg' in Kosovo as opposed to the official Albanian language in Albania.

- Dynamic Classification of Ethnic Incorporation. Revitalising Handelmann's table in order to see changes in ethnic incoporation. [17.12.01]

- Transforming Ethnic Nationalism Draft paper (v.2.9) Published for Public Review (17 p). [16.12.01]

- Photos from six months stay in Kosovo working for the OSCE [16.12.01]

- The usage of the Albanian Flag in Kosovo - traces of transformation in ethno-nationalistic sentiments? One of the key points in my thesis. [April 2001]

- Albansk Nasjonalisme og ideen om Stor-Albania: en oppklaring av albansk regional politikk i Serbia, Makedonia og Kosovo [Albanian Nationalism and the idea about 'Greater Albania': analysing the regional albanian politics in Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo].[April 2001]

We live in a global economy - ATTAC too! Comment about the recent development of the ATTAC movement. [16.04.01]

- Popular Patriotic Songs in Kosovo. Some of the most popular modern songs in Kosovo today translated into english (preliminary translation). [December 2000]

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Maintainance of such a site is an activity of self-indulgement over own personal achievements aiming at gaining social mobility and cultural capital.

This paper was written for and published by JAVA Magazine, Kosovo.

Is Kosovo Modern Enough?

There seems to be a structural problem facing the international community in Kosovo, when introducing democratic rule of law following (Western-) European international standards. The ‘Internationals' are predominantly concerned with introducing the technical aspects of good governance and professional bureaucracy; its rules and institutional structures, while it is taken for granted that the ideology of modern bureaucratic culture that has been developed over hundreds of years in Western Europe, will develop by itself alongside these structures; if only the structures are set up correctly. Without such an ideology, however, the democratic bureaucratic structures imposed by the West will be nothing but an empty shell, not very different from many third world countries; the institutions and structures are the same as in Western Europe, but under the surface it is still the traditional networks that are operating.

Modern bureaucracy was developed in Western Europe alongside with industrialisation and the introduction of market economy. Most significantly, the free labour market made work force a commodity in which workers sold their labour according to demand. Subsequently, there were large movement of workers to cities and other industrial areas where they were demanded, at the same time as the agricultural sector needed less labour because of improving technology. People were thus ‘up-rooted' from their local communities and the society; its social organisation and structures, became more anonymous. The institutions that were developed dealt with anonymous clients. The ideal of modern bureaucracy, as outlined by Max Weber, is that in which the bureaucrat applies abstract procedures, rules and regulations on the case of each client in a non-discriminatory way; the client is nothing else than a client, no matter who he or she is.

The opposite of modern bureaucratic culture, would be the culture of traditional kinship ties and alliances, forming a network of people that are in a relation of plights and obligations toward each others. They form a group of people in constant exchange of gifts and services. For a member of the group, social sanctions will apply, if the member does not help another member of the network, if able to. A bureaucrat in such a traditional network will not be able to comply with the demand for anonymous application of abstract rules and procedures on clients that are in the same network. The bureaucrat is biased. In a society that mainly consists of such ties and network, there will not be many non-biased bureaucrats.

Norway is an example of a country where the ideal of modern bureaucratic culture is very strong. There is almost no financial corruption and several institutionalised ‘checks and balances', such as the ‘Ombudsperson'. More important however; there is a strong sense of bureaucratic culture that sanctions anyone who tries to challenge its principles. The principle is that we shall all be treated equally on the basis of rules and procedures that have been set up by the people, through the democratic structures of society, ranging from engagement in local community affairs to municipal assemblies and local politics, to representation in the parliament and its elected government. A bureaucrat using his or her power to the advantage for a kinship network is not only breaking laws and procedures; such acts are against everything we stand for. Our values and norms. Modern bureaucratic culture is therefore an ideology, rooted in people's sentiments.

This does not mean that networks are irrelevant in Norway. A society without networks is not a society; the non-existence of networks means the non-existence of relations between people. Sociologists and Anthropologists just recently started to realise how networks are active even within the bureaucratic structures in Norway. It has obviously been ignored for a long time; the ideal of the opposite made us all blind to the idea that networks would prevail even alongside such devotion to modern bureaucratic culture. These are, however, not kinship networks; but networks of professionals; of colleagues and friends working within the same niche of the labour market. The difference is that they operate under the regime of the procedures and rules that applies in modern bureaucracy. A bureaucrat can only hire a former colleague if that person was the most competent for the position, and that the position had been announced vacant and applications were considered by an internal council set up for the purpose, and this was their recommendation. The need for such legitimacy is created by the ideology of modern bureaucratic culture that we share, which is deeply rooted in the society and its democratic norms and sentiments.

The development of modern bureaucratic culture rests upon the everyday practical experiences of people in their daily lives. If all resources you have had and gained came through kinship network channels; why would you even consider start thinking about the equal rights of citizens to have their case considered according to the rules and procedures set down by the democratic institutions they are part of? You will not. You contact a person within your network, whom you think have the power to do something for you, rather than applying formally to the respective state institution. Thus there is a gap between people's life experience and the formal structures of the society; the empty shell is there.

The question is this; what is it, in the Kosovar society, that gives people an experience with modern bureaucratic values and norms, making them feel higher devotion to the ideology of modern bureaucratic culture than their own networks?

Maybe we could say that the ‘local staff' experience the value of such ideology while working with ‘internationals' in the UNMIK and NGO structures. To that is to say that the ‘internationals' are most likely primarily pragmatists, making compromises in order to allow their difficult operations to work, rather than to be entangled in some idealistic principles. Further on, they have little contact with ‘locals' outside working hours, and tend to stick to their own network of other ‘internationals'. Maybe we could say the recruitment and training of the Kosovo Police Service represent such an experience with bureaucratic ideology. Then again, it is only a few thousands involved; even if it is a good start, it is far from wide-spread enough. Is there other such large scale experiences that has an impact on the people of Kosovo and their perception of modern bureaucratic culture? I can not think of any.

In Western Europe it was the reforms in the agricultural economy that imposed these experiences on people's life. Maybe that is a place to start. But it certainly is a long way to a Kosovar society with a ‘legal partiotism', as Jurgen Habermas calls it, in which people feel committed to the laws, rules and procedures as part of their devotion to the nation and its self-fulfilment.

I believe the key to a modern professional bureaucratic ideology lies in people's sentiments to the state and the population it services. The entrance to such devotion, is the identity of citizenship, the Kosovar identity. The citizens are citizens because of their equality to the laws and regulations of its state and governmental structures; their collective prospects lies in the virtue of the bureaucrats that implements these laws and regulations. It is only by this emotional devotion and pride that traditional kinship networks can be subjugated in bureaucratic structures. Modern bureaucratic culture is what makes those structures become more than just an empty shell; the structures will thus operating as an extension of the collective desires of its citizens.