Albanian nationalism

Albanian nationalism is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Albanians that were first formed in the beginning of 19th century in what was called the Albanian National Awakening. The term is also associated with similar concepts, such as Albanianism   and Pan-Albanianism,   and ideas what would lead to the formation of a Greater Albania.

Parts of these ideologies were adopted during the People's Republic of Albania (1945-1991), which was more focused on the Illyrian-Albanian continuity issue and appropriating Ancient Greek history as Albanian. During the Hoxha era, scholars, and particularly archeologists, were impelled to establish a connection between the ancient Illyrians and Albanians. However the core values of Albanian National Awakening remain rooted even today, while the ideology developed during Hoxha's regime is still partly present (though there seems to be some willingness for change ) in Albania and also Kosovo.

Albanian nationalism attaches great importance to the possibility of Illyrian contribution to Albanian ethnogenesis. The 19th century idea that Albanians are descendants of Pelasgians and that the Etruscans, Illyrians, ancient Macedonians, and Epirotes had a Pelasgian origin are still common in certain Albanian circles. These ideas comprise a national myth that establishes precedence over neighboring peoples (Slavs and Greeks) and allow movements for independence and self-determination, as well as irredentist claims against neighboring countries.

Protochronism
A now obsolete theory on the origin of the Albanians is that they descend from the Pelasgians, a broad term used by classical authors to denote the autochthonous inhabitants of Greece. This theory was developed by the Austrian linguist Johann Georg von Hahn in his work Albanesiche Studien in 1854. According to Hahn, the Pelasgians were the original proto-Albanians and the language spoken by the Pelasgians, Illyrians, Epirotes and ancient Macedonians were closely related. This theory quickly attracted support in Albanian circles, as it established a claim of predecence over other Balkan nations, particularly the Greeks. In addition to establishing "historic right" to territory, this theory also established that the ancient Greek civilization and its achievements had an "Albanian" origin. The theory gained staunch support among early 20th century Albanian publicists, but is rejected by scholars today. The Pelasgian theory of the origins of the Albanians had a measure of support in during the years of Communist Albania, though the "Illyrian" theory tended to have primacy. The protochronist ideology developed in Communist Albania was directly borrowed from the original protochronist ideology developed in Communist Romania.

Among controversial claims Aristotle, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Alexander the Great, and Phillip II of Macedon (along with all the ancient Macedonians) were Pelasgian-Illyrian-Albanian and that ancient Greek culture (and thus the result of the Hellenistic civilisation) had been spread by Albanians. Macedonians are considered forefathers (among several others) of the Albanians. Ancient Greek gods are seen as "Albanian" as well.

Through the Pelasgian claim, most if not all European cultures are claimed to be derivatory, even those of the Romans and Celts.

Robert D'Angély is one of the authors that tries to re-actualize 19th century claims that Albanians descend from the most ancient peoples, the Pelasgians, and that the European "white race" descends from these people. According to Angély, Greek people or Greek nation does not exist (he writes that Greeks mixed with Semites) and that the ancient Greeks were Pelasgian Albanians.

Edwin Everett Jacques, an American 19th century missionary in Albania in his book "The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present" supported and recreated these notions by considering all the Ancient Greeks Albanians.

Ismail Kadare, an Albanian novelist, winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2005 and of the Prince of Asturias Award in 2009 claims that Albanians are more Greek than the Greeks themselves, and attempts to construct a Greek-Illyrian continuity.

Evolution under the People's Republic of Albania (1945-1991)
In Communist Albania, an Illyrian origin of the Albanians (without denying Pelasgian roots a theory which has been revitalized today ) continued to play a significant role in Albanian nationalism, resulting in a revival of given names suppposedly of "Illyrian" origin, at the expense of given names associated with Christianity. This trend had originated with the 19th century Rilindja, but it became extreme after 1944, when it became the communist regime's declared doctrine to oust Christian or Islamic given names. Ideologically acceptable names were listed in the Fjalor me emra njerëzish (1982). These could be native Albanian words like Flutur "butterfly", ideologically communist ones like Proletare, or "Illyrian" ones compiled from epigraphy, e.g. from the necropolis at Dyrrhachion excavated in 1958-60.

At first, Albanian nationalist writers opted for the Pelasgians as the forefathers of the Albanians, but as this form of nationalism flourished in communist Albania under Enver Hoxha, the Pelasgians became a secondary element to the Illyrian theory of Albanian origins, which could claim some support in scholarship. The Illyrian descent theory soon became one of the pillars of Albanian nationalism, especially because it could provide some evidence of continuity of an Albanian presence both in Kosovo and in southern Albania, i.e., areas that were subject to ethnic conflicts between Albanians, Serbs and Greeks. Under the regime of Enver Hoxha, an autochthonous ethnogenesis was promoted and physical anthropologists tried to demonstrate that Albanians were different from any other Indo-European populations, a theory now disproved. Communist-era Albanian archaeologists claimed that ancient Greek poleis, gods, ideas, culture and prominent personalities were wholly Illyrian (example Pyrrhus of Epirus and the region of Epirus. ).They claimed that the Illyrians were the most ancient people in the Balkans and greatly extended the age of the Illyrian language. This is continued in post-communist Albania and has spread to Kosovo. Nationalist theories developed during communism have survived largely intact into the present day.

Modern Education
Albanian schoolbooks assert that the Illyrians are the heirs of the Pelasgians. Characteristically, in Albanian schools, pupils are taught that Alexander the Great and Aristotle were Albanians by ethnicity.

Impacts on modern Albanian society and culture
Nationalist theories developed during communism have survived largely intact into the present day. The Pelasgian theory especially has been revitalized today. The Albanian Kanun, a very ancient set of laws that is still partially applied in several areas of northern Albania is believed to have been inherited by Illyrians. Muzafer Korkuti, one of the dominant figures in post-war Albanian archaeology and now Director of the institute of Archaeology in Tirana said this in an interview of July 10, 2002: "'Archaeology is part of the politics which the party in power has and this was understood better than anything else by Enver Hoxha. Folklore and archaeology were respected because they are the indicators of the nation, and a party that shows respect to national identity is listened to by other people; good or bad as this may be. Enver Hoxha did this as did Hitler. In Germany in the 1930s there was an increase in Balkan studies and languages and this too was all part of nationalism.'"

The supposed "Illyrian" names that the communist regime generated continue to be used today and to be considered of Illyrian origin. The museum in the capital, Tirana, has a bust Pyrrhus of Epirus (an Ancient Greek) next to the bust of Teuta (an Illyrian), and under that of Scanderbeg, a medieval Albanian.

Influence on Albanian diaspora
The Albanian newspaper in the USA is called Illyria Albanian companies based abroad are named Illyrian-related names such as Illyria Holdings in Switzerland and the Swiss-Albanian Illyrian bank.

A USA-based Albanian company, Illyria Entertaintment, plans a documentary that calls the Illyrians "greatest forgotten people" that "contributed to the formation and development of the Western civilization", "shrouded in myth and legend" though little to nothing is known of their myths (see Illyrian gods) "before the dawn of classical Greece and the rise of the Roman empire" despite the fact the first account of Illyrians comes at the 4th century BC by a Greek writer.

Influence on movement toward Kosovan secessionism
This ideology of this type has spread to Kosovo The struggle for the liberation of Kosovo from Serb rule became the struggle for the recovery of the ancient land of the Dardanians and thus a re-creation of their ancient kingdom The concept of Illyrian descent proved impossible to eradicate in Kosovo despite the suppression by the Serbs. They have also been brought up to believe that their nation is the oldest in the Balkans, directly descended from the ancient Dardanians, a branch of the so-called Illyrians who had allegedly inhabited the region for many centuries before the arrival of the Slavic 'interlopers'. Some Kosovar Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania. The former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a "Dardanian" identity and its flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, it is not recognised by any international power and the name "Kosova" remains more widely used among the Albanian population. The name change and the ideology that goes with it has the intention of a weapon against Serbian historical rights by claiming that the Albanians were the original inhabitants of the region(the Dardanians). Orthodox Christianity is considered a Slavic characteristic and Roman Catholicism is preferred as the claim is that the Dardanians were Roman Catholics and that the invading Slavs usurped and turned their Catholic churches into Orthodox ones. Albanians in Kosovo believe that they are the direct descendants of the Illyrians, that they were the first Christians in Europe, and that St. Paul had been in "Dardania" first

Shops in Kosovo are frequently named Illyria Tours or Dardania Import-Export. A Dardania Bank exists in Albania.

Greater Albania
The term Greater Albania or Ethnic Albania as called by the Albanian nationalists themselves, refers to an irredentist concept of lands outside the borders of the Republic of Albania which are considered part of a greater national homeland by most Albanians, based on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in those areas. The term incorporates claims to Kosovo, as well as territories in the neighbouring countries Montenegro, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. Albanians themselves mostly use the term ethnic Albania instead. According to the Gallup Balkan Monitor 2010 report, the idea of a Greater Albania is supported by the majority of Albanians in Albania (63%), Kosovo (81%) and the Republic of Macedonia (53%).

Illyrade
In 1992 Albanian activists in Struga proclaimed also the founding of the Republic of Illyrade(Alb:Republika e Iliridës) with the intention of autonomy or federalization inside the Republic of Macedonia. The declaration had only symbolic meaning and the idea of an autonomous state of Illyrade(Alb:Iliridë) is not officially accepted by the ethnic Albanian politicians in the Republic of Macedonia . The name Illyrade is another form of Illyria.

Kosovo Liberation Army


The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA (Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës or UÇK) was a Kosovar Albanian group which sought the independence of Kosovo from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Albanian National Army
The Albanian National Army (abbreviated ANA; Armata Kombëtare Shqiptare, AKSh), is an ethnic Albanian terrorist organization closely associated with the Kosovo Liberation Army - operating in the Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo. The group opposes the Ohrid Framework Agreement which ended the 2001 Macedonia conflict between insurgents of the National Liberation Army and Macedonian security forces.

FBKSH
FBKSH (Fronti i Bashkuar Kombetar Shqiptar, United National Albanian Front) is a pan-Albanian irredentist organization whose objective is to create a "United Albania", a homeland for all Albanians.

National Liberation Army (Albanians of Macedonia)
The National Liberation Army (Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare - UÇK; Ослободителна народна армија - ОНА), also known as the Macedonian UÇK, was an insurgent and terrorist organization that operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 and was closely associated with the KLA.

Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac
The Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac,LAPMB (Ushtria Çlirimtare e Preshevës, Medvegjës dhe Bujanocit, UÇPMB; Oslobodilačka Vojska Preševa, Medveđe i Bujanovca, Cyrillic script: Ослободилачка војска Прешева, Медвеђе и Бујановца) was an Albanian terrorist guerrilla group fighting for the secession of Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa were at the time municipalities of the Republic of Serbia, itself a federal unit of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (not to be confused with SFR Yugoslavia); today they are municipalities of modern Serbia. The three municipalities were home to most of the Albanians of Central Serbia, adjacent to Kosovo. LAPMB uniforms, procedures and tactics mirrored those of the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The LAPMB operated from 1999 to 2001. The goal of the LAPMB was to secede these municipalities from Yugoslavia and join them to a future independent Kosovo.

Liberation Army of Chameria
Liberation Army of Chameria (Ushtria Çlirimtare e Çamërisë) is a reported paramilitary formation in the northern Greek region of Epirus. The organisation is reportedly linked to the Kosovo Liberation Army and the National Liberation Army, both ethnic Albanian paramilitary organisations in Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia respectively.