Kosovo is the newest state in the world, it is only two years old and its state building process is just in its infancy stage. After a long struggle for freedom, Kosovo could win its independence only on17 February 2008 as a result of an international intervention.
From the beginning of the 20th century until 2008 Kosovo was firstly part of Yugoslavia and later of the Serbian Republic. The Kosovo Albanians- who constitute 88 percent of the entire Kosovo's population at present- were one of the nationalities inside Yugoslavia, which had not the right to separate from it. But the oppressive and quasi apartheid state politics of Milosevic regime forced the Kosovo Albanians to struggle for their freedom, and to oppose the Yugoslavian and later Serbian politics. Hence, the Albanian nationalism increased among the Kosovo's Albanians as a reaction to Serbian nationalism. Therefore they saw as the only way to reach their freedom via independence from Serbia and later maybe to unite with their "motherland" (Albania). Thus, the radical politics of Milosevic towards the Kosovo's Albanians in 1990's led to the war between the Albanians (in Kosovo) and the Serbs. After the mistake at the Dayton Conference in 1995 (the issue of Kosovo was not mentioned at all), the Western Countries (US and EU) noticed that the issue of Kosovo could not be just a domestic problem of Serbia anymore, but a serious problem that in the near future could threaten the stability of the other countries in the Balkan. Therefore, after NATO's Kosovo Humanitarian Intervention in 1999, UN in collaboration with US and EU worked for the state-building of Kosovo. The Western countries understood that the only way for the stabilization of the region was Kosovo's independence. Thus, on 17 February 2008 Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence and was directly recognized by the important international actors like US and most of the EU members.
However, the declaration of independence does not mean that all of the Kosovo's problems were solved. The new state still remains very fragile and it has many internal and external challenges to deal with. One of the challenges that this article focuses on is the meaning of the Kosovo's political symbols and its impact on Kosovo's citizens.
The Importance of Political Symbols as Tools of Identity Construction

Since the independence of Kosovo one of the main issues concerning the Kosovar society is the debate about Kosovo's political symbols, design and meaning. Therefore, before examining this debate, it is necessary to have a general look at the signification of political symbols.
Broadly speaking, political symbols are used as tools of polity building and national identity construction, generally designed by the elites in order to legitimize their political and institutional existence. Thus, the symbols of any state must be different from those of the other states. States' political symbols are also important because they are considered as being the indicator of the common values and shared heritages of the citizens within a given state. Even when there are no common values and heritage to share, the appropriation of these symbols - not only officially but also by accepting and feeling them- would pave the way for the building of common values and heritages by the time. One of the most important aspects of the political symbols is that they are promises; they represent important proposes, aspiration and visions about the future.
As modernist theorists of nationalism (Gellner, Hobsbawm etc.) argue, modern states' identities can be socially constructed by top down political visions; therefore political symbols play an important role in this process. If all the citizens of one state concede the state's political symbols as their own, this makes them feel as an integral part of the state. Generally this process depends on the homogeneity of the state or the vision of the citizens have about the form of state and its diversity.

History of the National Symbols of the Republic of Kosovo

Kosovo does not have a homogeneous population. Despite the fact that Albanians constitute the main part of the population there are also other ethnic groups like Serbs, Bosnians, Gorans, Turks, Roma etc. But as it is mentioned above, Albanians were the one who fought for the independence of Kosovo while the other ethnic groups did not have problems with the Serbian rule, instead they were favored by the Serbian government at the time. This caused some Albanians to wrongly feel that Kosovo belonged firstly to them. The oppressive and violent policies of the Serbian government towards them forced the revival of Albanian nationalism. As a matter of fact, they used to identify themselves with Albania's national symbols like flag, emblem and anthem. Thus, they struggled for building a second ethnic Albanian (nation-)state in the Balkans. But the time showed that the Kosovo's Albanians did not win the independence by themselves. After a much discussed humanitarian intervention it was the Western states that materialized it.
As is mentioned above after NATO's Kosovo Humanitarian Intervention, Kosovo was placed under the UN transitional administration (UNMIK) and the NATO's peacekeeping force (KFOR) based on the UNSC 1244 Resolution. Then, international negotiations began in order to define a final status for Kosovo, led by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. This makes it clear that Kosovo's politics could not go outside the borders of UNSC 1244 Resolution and Ahtisaari Plan. One of the main points of Ahtisaari Plan was the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo as the only way for stabilization in the region. Accordingly, Kosovo was designed as a multiethnic state. As a result, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is based on the principles of a multiethnic state. The new state symbols like flag, anthem and obelisks were created in accordance with these principles. The flag consists of six white stars, which represent the largest ethnic groups in Kosovo, placed above the golden map of Kosovo on a blue background; the national anthem does not contain any text, and reflects the multiethnic character of Kosovo; while the "New Born" obelisk represents the birth of the a new nation.
The conception of a multiethnic state disappointed Albanians in Kosovo and was also in contradiction with their expectations. Their nationalist feelings made it very difficult for them to be familiar with the concept of a multiethnic state. From one point of view, they were right, because it was them who struggled for the independence of Kosovo, and also they constitute the majority of the population. On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that the Kosovo issue was considered as a sui generis case, e.g. there are many other cases in the world that struggle for independence like Kosovo, but no international support is given to them. Moreover, today the conditions of self-determination have changed; and the romantic philosophy of 19th century which gave birth to nation-states is not available any more.
The incidents between the Albanians and the Serbs in Kosovo after the 1999 intervention enforced the idea of the international community that an ethnic state was impossible in the case of Kosovo. In the case of an ethnic state of Kosovo, the Serbs could be oppressed and the societal security dilemma would escalate into a new conflict.
Shortly, the declaration of Kosovo's independence and its political symbols could be materialized only in accordance with international community's project expressed in "Ahtisaari Plan". Politicians were aware of the fact that the multiethnic symbols would cause protests, so they declared the Kosovo's official symbols just a few days before the declaration of independence.
It is clear that these symbols do not represent the Kosovo's Albanians' concepts and desires about a national state, but certainly they promise building a common national identity for all the ethnic groups. On the other hand, neither are the Serbs of Kosovo so pleased with the Kosovo's symbols. They identify themselves with the national symbols of the Serbian state. However there is a great difference between the Serbian and Albanian state regarding their official policies about Kosovo. While the former encourages the Serbs of Kosovo to disobey the Kosovo's authorities and to continue identifying themselves with the Serbian national symbols, the latter consider Kosovo as a state of its own, and encourage all the citizens of Kosovo to embrace their state's symbols.
On 17 February 2010 Kosovo celebrated its second anniversary of independence, under the logo "Celebrate with Kosovo- with the new Europeans". All the television channels and newspapers communicated this event. However, only the titles of news and some official congratulations would make one to remember that this is a special day for Kosovo. People were celebrating on streets carrying out Albanian flags and symbols which were not Kosovo's. It was difficult to notice any of Kosovo's official state symbols. This demonstrates that it is mainly the Albanians of Kosovo who celebrate. On the other hand, the majority of Albanians embraced the independence but not the multiethnic form of the state or its symbols. The majority of Kosovo's Albanians except for official cases tend to identify themselves with Albanian political symbols. This is a serious problem for Kosovo, because if its citizens do not recognize it, then it is difficult to be recognized by the others.
Citizens of Kosovo, especially Albanians and Serbians, must be aware of the fact that the international community's support for the Kosovo's independence was not in direction of establishing a new "traditional" ethnic state which would favor a particular ethnic group. But they wanted to preserve the multicultural nature of Kosovo and building a multiethnic state according to European principles. Thus, international community's decisions not only constrain but also construct the identities of the states. Kosovo's political symbols demonstrate clearly the aim to construct a new comprehensive identity, where all the citizens will be equal, in short a civic state. The "New Born" obelisk best represents the idea of focusing on the future where all the citizens of Kosovo can contribute on the construction of a new identity for the new born state.

The Discontents of Kosovo's Albanians

A myriad of information, news, articles and several activities demonstrate that the Albanians in Kosovo are not pleased with the Kosovo's official politics and they still underline the desire for an ethnic state while continuing to see the philosophy of the multiethnic state far away from the reality.
Albin Kurti, the leader of the "Vetevendosja" (self-determination) organization, protests and criticizes the conditions when Kosovo acquired its independence. He states that the Albanians of Kosovo have not acquired the independence they fought for, by criticizing the document of independence which is given below:
"We, the democratically-elected leaders of our people, hereby declare Kosovo to be an independent and sovereign state. This declaration reflects the will of our people and it is in full accordance with the recommendations of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaar(...) We declare Kosovo to be a democratic, secular and multi-ethnic republic(...)We accept fully the obligations for Kosovo contained in the Ahtisaari Plan(...)We welcome the international community's continued support of our democratic development through international presences established in Kosovo on the basis of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). We invite and welcome an international civilian presence to supervise our implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan, and a European Union-led rule of law mission."
According to this document the independence of Kosovo is not a "clear" self-determination -it still remains depended on international community- at best it is an independence from Serbia. Kurti is right highlighting that the name of Kosovo appears less than the name of Ahtisaari and UN, and the name "Albanian" does not appear at all within the document. However the present conditions also must be taken into consideration; the only way for Kosovo to win its independence was to declare its independence in accordance with "Ahtisaari Plan". The declaration of independence via UNSC would be unsuccessful because of Russia's veto. On the other hand, it must be emphasized that the Ahtisaari Plan for a multiethnic state is crucial and inevitable for the stabilization of Kosovo. On the contrary other ethnic groups, especially Serbs, would continually destabilize the new state.
Another criticism to Kosovo's government, form its Albanian citizens, rise because the government do not take the proper care about the celebration of 28 November (1912), which is the national day of the Albanian independence. This day is not even defined as an official holiday. The critics denounce the fact that while the European Day is in the list of the official holidays, the day of Albanian independence is not included. However they fail to understand that while the European Day speaks to all the Kosovo's citizens, the later belongs only to a particular nation.
They also accuse the Kosovo's government for decreasing the values of Adem Jashari -one of the chief of Kosovo Liberation Army killed by Serbs in 1998 with all his family and known as the symbol of independence and national hero for the Kosovo Albanians- in proportion with multiethnic values. According to critics, politicians focus on Kosovo's state symbols which came out as a result of political and diplomatic necessity. All these discontents demonstrate that the Kosovo's Albanians have not comprehended the "multiethnic" nature and the new identity of Kosovo. They need to understand that only a civic state can ensure the recognition of the new state in current world politics. They must also be conscious of the fact that the new identity of the Kosovo does not exclude the other identities like Albanian, Serbian, Turk etc., on the contrary, it enriches each of them on behalf of a common culture.

Conclusion

The declaration of independence does not necessarily mean an end of Kosovo's problems. Besides economical and social challenges, the recognition by other states is also of crucial importance for the new state. Until now only 66 states have recognized the state of Kosovo, which is not a sufficient number. Certainly there are many reasons why other states do not recognize it, but the Kosovo's own population -especially Albanians- has their part in this issue.
The Albanians of Kosovo fought a lot for their independence, so if they do not recognize their state's symbol, it is hard to conceive the other ethnic groups in Kosovo and other states to recognize them. Kosovo's Albanians must see the Serbs and other ethnic groups as an integral part of Kosovo which would make all the ethnic groups more familiar with the new state and its symbols. The Kosovo's citizens must concede to the fact that, national identity is not a finished or static phenomenon, instead it is a process of construction and reconstruction, and it must not wipe out (exclude) other identities (ethnic, religious or cultural).

* Graduated Student in International Relations, r.jonilda@hotmail.com
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[2] Albrecht Sonntag. Political Symbols, Citizenship and Communication. London: "Communicating European Citizenship" Conference, 22 March 2010, p 3.
[3] "Festo me Kosoven". Korrieri, 2010.
[4] Top-chanel tv. 17. 02.2010.
[5] Albin Kurti. "Festa qe na Bashkon". Korrieri, 18 shkurt 2010.
[6] "Full Text: Kosovo Declaration" BBC News, 17 Febryary 2008.
[7] Alma Lame. "28 Nëntori si Subkulturë" Korrieri, 30 Nëntor, 2009.
[8] http://www.mfa-ks.net/?page=2,4,481(accessed April 18, 2010)