Decentralization in Kosovo: Defusing Ethnic Tensions or Furthering Ethnic Isolation?

Lars Burema
Additional contact information
Lars Burema: European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)

Chapter 6 in Decentralization and Local Development in South East Europe, 2013, pp 100-117 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Advocates of decentralization have long maintained that it can be used as a mechanism for defusing inter-ethnic tension. Where successful, it creates cohesive multi-ethnic societies by giving communities extensive rights over the issues affecting their daily lives — for example, language, education, local administration — but avoids the disintegrative effects of separatism by allowing the state to retain control over national questions such as security and foreign affairs (Lijphart, 1977, 1996; Tsebelis, 1990; Horowitz, 1991a; Kaufman, 1996; Stepan, 1999; Gurr, 2000; Lustik, Miodownik and Eidelson, 2004). For example, Finland’s Åland Islands have experienced a large degree of autonomy since 1920, successfully balancing the demands for minority rights of the Åland Islands’ mostly Swedish population and the interests of the Finnish state.2

Keywords: Voter Turnout; Minority Community; Ethnic Conflict; Decentralization Process; Municipal Election (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:stuchp:978-1-137-29565-1_6

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9781137295651

DOI: 10.1057/9781137295651_6

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Studies in Economic Transition from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().