Kosovo Human Development Report 2010 - UNDP Kosovo - United ...

for all Kosovans, the level of public participation
in elections has declined in
Kosovo since 2000 (see Figure 5.1 below).
In line with previous chapters this
speaks again to the profound gap between
the adoption of these laws and
their implementation. It also suggests
a fracture of the trust that welds societies
and governments into a democratic
whole. Since political participation
takes effort, it must be perceived as
valuable and useful to the participant
in some way. Clearly, political participation
in Kosovo is failing this litmus
test for a wide range of its citizens.
The figure below indicates how
societies can move from a very inclusive
political process to widespread
political exclusion (including self-exclusion)
in a short space of time. However,
aside from general disenchant-
FIGURe
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
5.1
Source: Democracy in Action 170
ment with the political process, Kosovo
is also facing a severe test of will to
realize legislative provisions designed
to ensure the inclusion of minority –
and even unpopular – groups in political
dialogue. 171 Kosovo’s own history
of political exclusion prior to 1999 has,
ironically, made it even harder to adopt
socially cohesive values implemented
in Europe only after decades of peace
and hundreds of years of statehood.
This chapter examines some of the
causes of Kosovo’s socio-political fractures,
in order to point at potential solutions.
5.2
Turnout levels in Kosovo Elections 2000-2009
Mechanisms and
drivers of exclusion
from political participation
Political exclusion is a more complex
phenomenon in Kosovo than
sectoral exclusion (for example, from
health or education services). It is an
expression of the perceived value of a
right – enfranchisement, for example –
as much as delivery of that right. It also
2000 2001 2002 2004 2007 2009
relies much more heavily on social cohesion,
and the cooperation between
differing ethnic groups to choose politics
as a forum for airing differences
rather than opting instead for social
isolation or ostracization. The primary
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND EXCLUSION
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