Contested States as Liminal Spaces of Citizenship: Comparing Kosovo and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Abstract

Through a comparative analysis of two contested states—Kosovo and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the paper analyses the impact of internal and/or external statehood contestation on the scope of citizenship rights. It does so by introducing the concept of liminality in the study of citizenship in contested states. It contends that while the negative impact of contested statehood on citizenship rights is inevitable, the degree of impediment depends on the nature and level of contestation of statehood, the wider (regional) citizenship constellations, and on the ability of contested states to use different strategies to overcome sovereignty deficits.

Notes

1. This article is based on an earlier working paper, ‘Contested Territories, Liminal Polities, Performative Citizenship: a Comparative Analysis’, published in the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) Working Paper Series (EUI RSCAS; 2018/13).

2. In 2000, the UN Mission in Kosovo issued travel documents for local residents, which neither confer nationality (i.e. citizenship) upon its holder, nor do they affect in any way the holder's nationality. In practical terms, the UNMIK Travel Document was a poor substitute for a state passport because only 37 countries officially recognised it, thus creating travel-related obstacles for its holders.

3. Visa liberalisation was the key priority for Kosovo institutions both because it is not connected to the issue of statehood (Taiwanese passport holders have been granted visa free travel within the Schengen area despite of the fact that the EU does not recognise Taiwan as a state) and ultimately strengthens Kosovo's nascent citizenship regime (Interview with a Kosovan diplomat, Brussels, 24 June 2017).

4. Interview with a Kosovan official, Pristina, 11 April 2017.

5. Kosovo Embassy in Vienna, personal communication, 7 December 2017.

6. Russia allows people with Kosovo passports to enter its territory only in special cases and in order to participate in international sporting events (Tanjug, 2015).

7. In addition to outmigration, Kosovo faces a ‘citizens hemorrhage’. Between 2008 and 2017 more than 40,000 citizens have renounced Kosovan citizenship (Krasniqi-Veseli, 2017).

8. This is expected to change soon as a result of a recommendation by the Commission to European Parliament and Council to lift the visa requirements for Kosovo passport holders (Balkans Policy Research Group, 2018).

9. Since 2011 a new EU mediated travel regime between Kosovo and Serbia has been established that enables Kosovo citizens to travel to Serbia using their Kosovo ID cards. Upon arrival in Serbian territory, they must receive an entry document (a paper) that allows a stay of up to 90 days.

10. When the RoC signed the EU Accession Treaty on 16 April 2003, article 1(1) of the Protocols on Cyprus provided that ‘[t]he application of the acquis shall be suspended in those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control’ (European Union, 2003).

11. TRNC London Representative Office, personal communication, 12 December 2017.