The Politics of the Past in Kosovo: Divisive and Shared Heritage in Mitrovica

Abstract

This chapter introduces Kosovo heritage politics and focuses on the consequences and the aftermath of the Kosovo War in 1999. The developments can be understood as conditions characteristic of conflict-time, in which heritage is used to continue a conflict through non-violent means. It is argued that heritage that lacks the potency to contribute to the conflict is forgotten or neglected. In practice, this involves most of the built heritage, thus preventing recognition of a plurality of heritage that could potentially contribute to building a more democratic and culturally diverse state. The case of Mitrovica is presented in more detail. It is a divided town in northern Kosovo in which cultural heritage from different historical periods can be found, which represents or is claimed by different groups in society. Sometimes this heritage is used to position one group against the other. By looking at choices and difficulties in managing heritage assets, we try to understand how historical circumstances influence the possibilities of identifying a heritage shared by several ethnic communities.