Identity and Geography: The Impact of the Albanian Diaspora in Post-War Kosovo of the early 2002

This essay is about the effects of recent mass migration of Kosovar Albanians and changing local perceptions about the role played by the diaspora in post-war Kosovo. It seeks to illuminate the changes that Kosovo has gone through as a result of the diaspora’s temporary seasonal influx during the summer of months. In the first decade of the Twenty-First Century, the diaspora was seen as a modernizing force as well as a symbol of culture preservation. It will be argued that this positive notion has been increasingly challenged in the last few years. This paper aims to look deeper into why the attitude of locals has shifted from being welcoming to a more reserved one in relation to its ethnoscape.