I. Research approach and methodology

The second stage of the interdisciplinary survey, dedicated to the fate of Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania after the end of the military operations, was carried out in October-November 1999.* This second stage of the fieldwork applied the same interdisciplinary approach but with a reduced number of scholars, i.e. a historian expert in Balkan studies, two young historians experienced in anthropology, a journalist and a mediator-interpreter from Albania. Once again the scholars applied not only the methods and tools of their own science but they used the method of  anthropologic discussions and a preliminary drawn questionnaire with semi-standardized sociological interviews.

The aim was within three five-day trips to Macedonia and Albania to take a snapshot of the situation of the Albanian communities in both countries, of their ideas about future prospects, their evaluation of the situation in Kosovo and the future of the Kosovo Albanian community six months after the end of the military operations.

The team was interested in the stereotypes and attitudes of each Albanian community towards the others, since the war and the refugee flows allowed them to take a direct and closer view of each other under the conditions of a critical situation. Another object of this research was to ascertain whether the national unification of the Albanians within one state is a question of present interest.

The social attitudes in Macedonia and Albania on the future status of Kosovo were also studied, as well as the views on the future of Kosovo as a whole, so that they could be compared with the attitudes of six months before.

The particular line of research of studying the ethnic and cultural specific features of the Albanians continued, i.e. generic and family relations, birth rate, restoration of the Kanun /the common law/, attitude towards the state and the institutions, division between the North and the South, etc.

The research started in the middle of October and continued till November 5^th, 1999 (with some interruptions and splitting the team, thus achieving better efficiency).

The surveys were conducted basically in Skopie, Tetovo, Tirana, Duras and the village of Droc in Albania.
The respondents were more than 30 persons aged between 25 and 70, men and women of different social status, i.e. politicians, intellectuals, clergymen, workers, farmers, etc.

* The first stage of the research was carried out in June 1999. The team consisted of A.Angelov, G.Savov, V.Tepavicharov, D.Mihaylova, K.Stoilov, A.Zhelyazkova, and A.Chaushi. The results were published in the “Kultura” newspaper, issue 40, 8th Oct. 1999. To be published in Ethnologie Française (in French).