Framing Post-2000 Kosovo E-Migration: Between the Legacy of War and a New Generation of Professionals

Framing Post-2000 Kosovo E-Migration: Between the Legacy of War and a New Generation of Professionals In this episode, we are joined by Dr Vjosa Musliu, who will share her motivations for emigrating from Kosovo and reflect on the period that led to the new journey in Belgium. The existing literature on Kosovar emigration primarily focuses on those who left before or during the 1990s, driven by economic hardships and human rights abuses. However, the post-2000 emigration wave, including those who left Kosovo for education, career advancement, or on spousal visas, still needs to be explored. While it is well-documented that guest workers left Yugoslavia due to limited job opportunities, especially for Kosovar Albanians, and that the 1990s migration was driven by systemic oppression, the motivations and contexts for post-2000 migration have yet to be fully theorised or analysed.In this podcast, we will periodically engage with diaspora members who belong to this more recent wave of migration. The aim is to understand their motivations for leaving Kosovo and to document their experiences living abroad. What does it mean to emigrate with language proficiency skills and (though problematic) visa and professional opportunities (or lack thereof) in the internet era, where the understanding of distance has been blurred? And how does this change Kosovar emigration dynamics and perceptions?Dr. Vjosa Musliu is an assistant professor of international relations at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Her research focuses on international interventions, EU external relations and how the EU creates and maintains its relations with its ‘others’. She is also a co-editor of the Routledge Studies on Intervention and Statebuilding Series and a member of the Yugoslawomen+ Collective. Her new book (forthcoming in 2025) called “Girlhood at war: interpreting war and liberation in Kosovo” explores themes of everyday resistance, war and liberation in Kosovo.