Kosovo (1989–2002)
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Where is Kosovo, and who are most of its people?
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All Flashcards in Topic 5.2
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5.2.112 cards
Where is Kosovo, and who are most of its people?
A small region in south-east Europe (the Balkans) whose people are mostly ethnic Albanians, but which Serbia sees as its historic heartland.
Define autonomy.
The right of a region to run many of its own affairs within a larger state.
What happened to Kosovo's autonomy in 1989?
Serbia, under Milošević, revoked Kosovo's autonomy and ruled it directly from Belgrade — the trigger of the crisis.
Who was Slobodan Milošević?
The Serbian leader from the late 1980s who built power on Serbian nationalism and ended Kosovo's self-rule; later tried for war crimes.
What was the Gazimestan speech (1989)?
A nationalist speech Milošević gave in Kosovo on the 600th anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, hinting at future 'battles'.
Who was Ibrahim Rugova?
The Albanian leader who urged peaceful, non-violent resistance in the 1990s and built a 'parallel state' of Albanian schools and clinics.
Why did peaceful protest fail?
Rugova's non-violence won no real change, and the 1995 Dayton Agreement ended Bosnia's war but ignored Kosovo entirely.
What was the KLA?
The Kosovo Liberation Army, an armed Albanian group that attacked Serbian police from about 1996, triggering harsh Serbian reprisals.
What was the Drenica attack of 1998?
A Serbian offensive in the Drenica region that killed dozens of the Jashari family and turned the insurgency into open war.
Name the three stages that led to war (L-P-A).
Loss of self-rule (1989), Peaceful protest that failed, and the Armed rising by the KLA.
Long-term cause vs trigger of the Kosovo war?
Long-term: deep Serb–Albanian nationalist rivalry. Trigger: the 1989 removal of Kosovo's autonomy.
What does the command term 'evaluate' require?
A judgement: weigh the causes against each other and reach a supported conclusion — not just a list.
5.2.210 cards
What happened to Kosovo's self-rule in 1989?
Serbia's leader Slobodan Milošević ended Kosovo's autonomy, taking away the Albanian majority's control of their own schools, police and government.
What were the Rambouillet talks (early 1999)?
Western-led peace talks in France. The Albanians signed the deal but Serbia refused NATO troops on its soil, so the talks collapsed.
When did NATO's air campaign against Serbia run, and how long?
From 24 March to 10 June 1999 — a 78-day bombing campaign.
Why was NATO's 1999 intervention controversial?
NATO bombed Serbia without UN Security Council approval, because Russia and China would have blocked it. Critics called this illegal.
What is a humanitarian intervention?
Using military force to stop the mass killing or expulsion of civilians in another country.
What happened to Albanian civilians during the bombing?
Rather than being protected at once, around 800,000 Albanians were expelled from Kosovo by Serbian forces as the campaign went on.
How did the war end in June 1999?
Milošević withdrew his forces, UN Resolution 1244 placed Kosovo under UN administration with NATO-led peacekeepers, and most refugees returned.
Order the Kosovo conflict from start to finish.
1989 autonomy removed → peaceful resistance → KLA war (1996–98) → NATO bombing (1999) → UN administration.
Compare Rugova's method with the KLA's method.
Rugova used peaceful protest and a parallel society; the KLA used armed attacks. Rugova's failure to win Western help pushed some Albanians towards the KLA.
In OPVL, what does 'purpose' tell you about a source?
Why the source was made. A persuasive purpose (like winning support) can make a source one-sided — a limitation.
5.2.311 cards
Define ethnic cleansing.
Forcing a whole ethnic group to leave an area, often through violence and terror.
What was the KLA (UÇK)?
The Kosovo Liberation Army, an armed ethnic-Albanian group that fought Serbian forces for Kosovo's independence in the late 1990s.
Roughly how many Kosovo Albanians were displaced in 1998–99?
Around 850,000 fled or were expelled into Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.
How long did NATO's 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia last, and when?
78 days, from 24 March to 10 June 1999 (Operation Allied Force), without UN Security Council approval.
What did UN Resolution 1244 (June 1999) do?
It ended open fighting and placed Kosovo under international administration, backed by the NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR.
How did the war's impact fall on Serbs and Roma?
After June 1999, revenge attacks displaced many Serbs and Roma, so displacement hit both sides, not only Albanians.
How did the war spread beyond Kosovo?
Refugees strained neighbours, and in 2001 an Albanian insurgency spilled into Macedonia before the Ohrid Agreement calmed it.
What was the justice impact of the war?
Milošević lost power in 2000, was handed to the ICTY in The Hague in 2001, and his war-crimes trial opened in 2002.
Sort Kosovo's impact into three layers.
People (death and displacement), Region (refugees and 2001 Macedonia spillover) and Justice (Milošević's trial). Memory hook: PRJ.
Compare the positive and negative impacts of NATO's bombing.
Positive: forced Serbian withdrawal and ended the expulsions. Negative: killed civilians, wrecked infrastructure, expulsions worsened during it, and it lacked UN approval.
What is the biggest Paper 1 mistake on an impact question?
Telling the war story instead of judging impact. Weigh both sides with sources and own knowledge, then reach a balanced judgement.
Topic 5.2 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Kosovo (1989–2002)
History exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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