ABSTRACT
Contemporary conflict management scholarship describes the situation in Kosovo as an undeniable case of intractable conflict. In 1974, Yugoslav federal authorities managed to appease the claims for self-determination in Kosovo, by granting the province a high degree of autonomy and a status as a federal unit, although formally it was still a province within the republic of Serbia. Anti-Albanian sentiment reached every aspect of society. The authorities expanded their list of potential suspects and several thousands of Kosovo Albanians were prosecuted for separatism between 1981 and 1987. The consistent demographic decline of the Slavic population in the province invigorated nationalistic rhetoric and policies of the new party elite in Belgrade. The expelled Albanian political elite started developing new forms of organization and resistance. The radicalization of the Kosovo Albanian separatist tendencies was rapidly restricting the space for any compromise-based solution.
