Brownbag Seminars: Building Multi-Ethnic States: A Comparative Study of Kosovo and Macedonia

PhD Student at Doctoral School of International Relations

My research focuses on relation between exogenous state-building process and the role of minorities in this process. As a case study, I will compare two multi-ethnic societies, Kosovo and Macedonia. The reason for choosing these case studies is that both countries have a common constitutional history within ex-Yugoslavia, an experience of ethnic political violence, and exogenous interventions in response to establishing peace among ethnicities. However, constitutional changes influenced by external actors regarding minorities, varies in both countries. The research aims to investigate how external actors have shaped the minorities’ rights. By examining Brubaker’s, Smith’s and Germain’s nexuses my research aims to investigate whether there is another element that influences minorities rights in multi-ethnic societies, in addition to established factors such as kin state, host state, minorities, and the international organizations