“A land swap proposal between Kosovo and Serbia could end the last ethnic conflict of the Yugoslav Wars, or it could reignite it. The proposal involves swapping Serbian-majority district of Mitrovica in north Kosovo, and the Albanian-majority Presevo Valley, in southwest Serbia. The deal excludes 6 Serbian-majority municipalities within Kosovo.”
Source: bigthink.com
Land swaps are about fixing problematic borders–and we know that the world is full of problematic, contentious, and disputed borders. Yet land swap are incredibly rare because it upends the status quo. A few years back Belgium and Netherlands swapped some land, but more often then not, calls to simply give land to another country just because the land appears to be controlled by the ‘wrong’ country usually go unanswered. This proposed swap is especially intriguing because (to an objective outside observer) it could benefit both countries and lead to a mutual recognition of their shared border. This BBC podcast explores local impacts and opinions about borders, ethnic identity, and place. Â
GeoEd Tags: borders, political, territoriality, unit 4 political, Serbia, Kosovo, Europe.
Scoop.it Tags: borders, political, territoriality, unit 4 political, Serbia, Kosovo, Europe.
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