ABSTRACT
Over 30 years, Albania's relations with Kosovo have reflected a continuous interplay of ever-changing political realities, intrinsically linked to the geopolitical developments in the Balkans and in the world. Because of its history and symbolic value, Albania played a special role throughout the phases of liberation, state building, independence, and recognition of Kosovo. Nonetheless, more often than not, Kosovo and Albania ran on parallel agendas built on different priorities. This chapter analyses institutional relations and institutional acts between Albania and Kosovo. It does so based on various sources, by drawing mostly on the official documentation and resources, reports, and academic literature. The chapter concludes that the balance of state acts and the records of cooperation between the two countries, despite their mutual achievements, fail to fulfill the expectations of the public of two countries. Milestone achievements to date have come into being mainly because of the coincidence of the interests of Kosovo and Albania with those of their key Western partners. The Kosovo–Albania relations have still a long way to go in terms of establishing a functional interstate relationship to overcome the highly fragmented cooperation patterns built around the personal preferences of their current political elites.
