Inter-Ethnic Relations in Albania: The Causality Between Inter-Ethnic and Inter-State Relations
Inter-Ethnic Relations in Albania: The Causality Between Inter-Ethnic and Inter-State Relations

Summary/Abstract: Throughout the period of communism, human rights and freedoms of all ethnic groups, both majorities and minorities, had been grossly violated in Albania, while spiritual and ethnic sentiments were forcibly mitigated by the communist regime. Consequently, during the period of communism, the impression from abroad was that ethnically Albania was a rather homogeneous country. Nevertheless, certain neighbouring countries as well as different ethnic minorities living in Albania have constantly questioned such perception. After the fall of communism, the size of different minorities living in the country has emerged as the main inter-ethnic dispute in Albania. Although currently several ethnic groups are officially recognized as national minorities in Albania, the Greek minority is the largest one and the only minority large enough to have sufficient political, economic and social significance. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the state of inter-ethnic relations in Albania, with special focus on relations between ethnic Albanian majority and ethnic Greek minority. The paper also offers an analysis of main factors that contribute to inter-ethnic tensions in the country and explores possible scenarios in the future. The most relevant part of the paper analyses the causality between inter-ethnic and inter-state relations. The paper claims that as in other countries of the Western Balkans, interstate and inter-ethnic relations in essence represent components of the same equation. The paper concludes that the overall inter-ethnic relations between Albanians and Greeks in Albania are heavily affectedby inter-state relations between Albania and Greece and vice versa.

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