Kosovo's Post-independence Inter-clan Conflict - HUMSEC

HUMSEC Journal, Issue 2
Kosovo’s Post-independence Inter-clan Conflict
Musaj and the Haradinaj families. 3 If this is indeed true, why are such blood feuds taking
place in Kosovo? How and why are blood feuds likely to influence the Kosovo political
arena after independence?
In this essay, I explore the impact of the tradition of gjakmarrja (“blood feuds”) on the political
and social life in Kosovo after independence. I argue that clan-based divisions in
Kosovo are likely to serve as a basis for political mobilization of elites competing for
wealth, power and status. I will first provide a short description of the Kanun i Leke Dukagjinit
(Code of Leke Dukadjini), which established the practice of blood feuds. Second, I
will provide a theoretical analysis of the inter-clan relations. Finally, I will advance several
hypotheses about the possible implications of the clan-based divisions on independent Kosovo.
II. Blood Feuds And The Code Of Dukagjini
What is a blood feud? Anthropological studies have detailed blood feuds among the Northern
Albanian Ghegs, a practice that is likely to have spread to neighboring Kosovo and Macedonia
in the early 20 th century. 4 The work of the British anthropologist Edith Durham
(1863-1944) provides a particularly rich narrative on the traditions of the Ghegs and their
adherence to the Code of Leke Dukagjini. 5 The Code is a customary law observed by the
Ghegs as early as the 15 th century but formally recorded by Franciscan Father Shtjefėn
Gjegjovi (1874-1929) in the mid-1920s.
According to the Code, the principle of “an eye for an eye, a life for a life” defines blood
feuds. As the main value of traditional Albanian society is honor, any offense against one’s
family, kinsmen or ancestors requires a murder as the only satisfactory revenge. At times,
revenge killings among members of two feuding clans spread over decades. Frequently,
justifications based on honor mask the real reason for the blood feud, i.e. the struggle for
property rights.
3 International Crisis Group, Kosovo after Haradinaj, Europe Report Number 163, 26 May 2005. Available
online at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3474. All websites in this paper were last checked
on April 12, 2008.
4 No studies are yet available on the approximate time of the transfer and adoption of the Code of Leke Dukadjini
by Kosovo and Macedonian Albanians. Because of common language, culture and frequent interaction,
it is plausible that the Code of Leke Dukadjini was gradually adopted in Kosovo and Macedonia in the
early 20 th century when Shtjefėn Gjegjovi recorded and published the Code, or even much earlier.
5 Durham, Edith M., Some Tribal Origins, Laws and Customs of the Balkans, George Allen & Unwin Ltd,
London, 1928.
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