Heroic Tale, Game, and Business Deal? Western Metaphors in Action in Kosovo

Who is the Author

Kuusisto

What is the Main Phrase from Title

Western Metaphors in Action in Kosovo

Object / Topic Analysed

Western metaphors (specifically the heroic narrative, the game, and the business deal) in shaping the way Kosovo’s post-war reality was understood and presented, especially in the context of international interventions and nation-building efforts after the 1999 NATO bombing and the eventual independence of Kosovo

Type of Criticism

Metaphoric Criticism

• Examines how different metaphors (the “heroic tale,” the “game,” and the “business deal”) were employed by Western policymakers, media, and international organisations to frame Kosovo’s conflict and post-conflict reality

Why is it this type of criticism?

Looks at how these metaphors shaped both international and local understandings of the situation, often reflecting larger Western ideological frameworks and simplifying complex geopolitical and social realities

• By analysing how these metaphors are used, the author critiques the oversimplification and possible misrepresentations involved in such framing

  

What are the Major Claims?

• The Role of Western Metaphors in Framing Kosovo’s Reality

  • Western metaphors that are employed to explain Kosovo’s post-conflict situation simplified and often distorted the political, social, and cultural complexity of Kosovo’s reality

• Heroic Tale Metaphor

  • Depicts Kosovo’s war as a righteous battle and emphasises the heroism of the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the moral righteousness of Western intervention.

  • Simplifies the narrative, presenting a clear-cut moral dichotomy between good (the Albanians and Western allies) and evil (the Serbs)

• Game Metaphor

  • Conveys the political and diplomatic manoeuvring of international actors like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union

  • Kosovo is framed as a strategic chessboard where different actors play out their interests, sometimes detached from local realities

• Business Deal Metaphor

  • Portrays Kosovo’s reconstruction and its eventual political status as a transactional process, driven by international market interests and negotiations between external powers

  • Downplays the sovereignty and agency of the local population, instead focusing on Kosovo as a bargaining chip in broader international negotiations

• Impact of Metaphors

  • These metaphors contributed to a Western-dominated narrative, often sidelining the voices of Kosovars and presenting Kosovo’s post-war rebuilding as a foreign-driven process rather than one that prioritised local needs and realities

• Critique of Oversimplification

  • The use of these metaphors often created false dichotomies (hero vs. villain, good vs. bad) and framed Kosovo’s recovery and state-building in a way that ignored local agency and deeper historical factors

Critique or Interesting Twist

The business deal metaphor reflects a neoliberal approach to post-conflict reconstruction. Kuusisto points out that the business deal metaphor emphasises transactional relationships and market-driven solutions, implying that Kosovo’s reconstruction is a commodity to be negotiated rather than a complex, social, and political process. This metaphor ultimately dehumanizes the process, reducing a nation's recovery to a simple economic transaction where international powers and corporations are the key actors.