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Paper short abstract

During the 1990s Kosovo political crisis, nature became a symbol of resistance for Albanians excluded from institutions. Land, animals, and farming offered not only survival but dignity, memory, and belonging, redefining the bond with place beyond the state in a time of repression and uncertainty.

Paper long abstract

In the early 1990s, following the breakup of Yugoslavia and the rise of a repressive Serbian regime in Kosovo, Albanians faced systematic exclusion from employment, education, healthcare, and public institutions. Alongside political repression, this exclusion created profound economic and social insecurity. In this context of institutional alienation and structural violence, nature gained a new, vital role in the everyday lives of Kosovo Albanians.

With no reliable income or access to a functioning state, many turned to the land, and domestic animals as essential sources of survival. More than subsistence, these elements became foundations for social, spiritual, and cultural resilience. This research explores how nature, both as a material environment and symbolic space, shaped personal and collective survival narratives. Acts like gardening, farming, and raising livestock were not only driven by necessity, but also served as forms of resistance and memory.

Based on oral histories and lived experiences from the 1990s, this presentation examines how people used nature to reclaim a sense of dignity and belonging amid crisis. The shift from urban employment to rural subsistence work is reflected in language and storytelling, revealing a transformed relationship with place, one not mediated by the state, but rooted in everyday life. Ultimately, the narrative of nature in 1990s Kosovo challenges classic boundaries between urban and rural, proposing an alternative model of coexistence and resistance in times of socio-political crisis.