| Date | May 2017 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 17M.1.BP.TZ0.18 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Analyse | Question number | 18 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to Case study 2: Kosovo (1989–2002) – Causes of the conflict: Ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians, rising Albanian nationalism.
Source S
Djuric Bosko, a Serb who moved out of Kosovo, being interviewed by an American researcher in 1995.
I was a police officer for 32 years but I had to leave … My neighbour was watering his yard and then he would “forget” to turn off the water and my basement would be full of water. Then they would go through my yard shouting: “Go, move out, what are you doing here?” … It was not safe to walk during the night. Kids were often assaulted and beaten [by Albanians] … My kids had problems at work. Serbs were never given promotions, so my children moved away…
Resolving the conflict in Kosovo depends mostly on foreign policy. Albanians have huge support from outside and therefore they don’t agree to living jointly with the Serbs. They want an ethnically clean Kosovo. If they get independence, they will expel the few remaining Serbs from there …
Their natality [birth rate] is, I think, the greatest in Europe. Every woman of theirs gives birth to ten to fifteen children, and very few Serbs have more than two or three kids. Emigrants from Albania were coming, too. Even the SUP [Secretariat of Internal Affairs, the Serbian police] was buying properties in Kosovo for them.
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source S for an historian studying the rise of ethnic tensions between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians during the 1990s.
Markscheme
Value:
- It is a testimony from a Serb who cited hostility between Serbs and Albanians for the reason for his emigration.
- The source offers insight into Serbian perspectives on the causes of the rise of ethnic nationalism.
- In an interview with an outsider, in this case an American researcher, Bosko may have felt able to reveal his true feelings.
Limitations:
- As a testimony offered in 1995, his views were an immediate response to an environment of ethnic tensions and nationalist propaganda and cannot help an historian’s understanding of the subsequent escalation of tensions.
- As a testimony offered by a Serb who left Kosovo, his views may be influenced by a desire to victimize Serbs.
- As a testimony offered to an American, his views may be exaggerated to attract foreign support and cannot help an historian’s understanding of the subsequent escalation of ethnic tensions.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. The focus of the question is on the value and limitations of the source. If only value or limitations are discussed, award a maximum of [2]. Origin, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the value and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the value or the limitations.
