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In the aftermath of the conflict in the Balkans and in particular the latest pogrom in Kosovo, social scientists are starting to try to make some sense of the atrocities and human rights violations that have taken place there. This paper relays some first impressions from a recent visit to Pristina in the heart of Kosovo earlier in the year. We suggest some ways in which we might start thinking psychoanalytically about the current conditions in which the population of Kosovo live. This piece is too short to attempt an extensive analysis, but it is intended to give the reader a first-hand taste of some of the experiences that were encountered during this research. We start by outlining some of the basic feelings that the observer encounters when first in Kosovo, before going on to discuss some of the psycho-dynamics at work in the interplay between Serbian and Albanian residents. Finally, we suggest that some of the key dynamics that were at the heart of the eruption of ethnic hatred in Kosovo are currently part of the strategy for peace keeping. We question the viability of this in terms of both finding a solution for conflict and re-building Kosovo, and we ask how we are to move from a position of splitting difference to a point of the reconciliation of difference.
The first impressions of Pristina were not quite what one would expect. A year had passed since the end of the NATO bombing campaign against Serbian forces in Kosovo. One might have expected to see large-scale physical damage and destruction and an air of sobriety. The opposite, however, seemed to be the case. Buildings were largely intact, and one was greeted by a mood of jubilation as people celebrated their freedom from Serbian oppression. This first impression was, however, slightly misleading, for behind this