Beyond Ethnic Binaries: Queering Peacebuilding

When a Kosovo Albanian drag queen stepped onto the stage at Belgrade Pride in 2019, the moment carried more political meaning than many formal dialogue initiatives. Nervous about how a Serbian audience would react to an Albanian performer from Kosovo, Diva — one of Kosovo’s first drag performers — carefully chose an Albanian pop song that would not inflame nationalist tensions. Instead of hostility, the crowd erupted in applause. The performance became a rare moment of connection across one of the Balkans’ most entrenched divides.

The LGBTI+ community is often described as a “chosen family” to many, a symbol of acceptance and freedom within rooted divisions and marginalization. These epithets reach beyond the acceptance of someone’s gender or sexual identity. As shown above, the Queer community is very often the (only) one which will offer a friendly applause and acceptance even when the context suggests possible tensions.

Yet such stories rarely enter discussions about peacebuilding and interethnic dialogue.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), or the Robert Bosch Stiftung.