Storytelling, identities and reconciliation

Abstract

This research studies reconciliation between Albanian and Serbian young people in Kosovo in the aftemath of the Kosovo conflict in 1999. It aims to explore how the narratives the young people receive from their parents affect their perceptions of each other. Subsequently, the research studies the implications these narratives have for reconciliation between Albanian and Serbian young people. Furthermore, this study aims to reveal areas of interventions for reconciliation across generations in Kosovo based on the findings. The underlying assumptions are that ethnic primordialist considerations are still prevalent in Kosovo, and the salience of ethnicity could be reduced through a process of social categorisation. The data has been collected utilising autoethnographic research method, where the researches own ecperiences in growing up in a post-conflict country and reconciliating with the other have been taken into account.