In an interview for the news site, David Philips from the Institute for Human Rights Studies at Columbia University says that the overwhelming majority of Kosovo citizens are still pro-American and pro-Western, “however the number of those that are radicalizing is growing”.

Mr. Phillips, you wrote recently that Kosovo’s long history of secularism is changing. Why do you think it is changing?

First let me emphasize that the ethnic Albanians were always strongly pro-American. The United States of America and Kosovo cooperated closely to stop Serbia’s aggression and to move gradually toward independence. So there is a deep bond between Albanians and Americans. However, when the United States left Kosovo aside this had its impact on the mindset of Kosovars. There is a high level of unemployment and the United States have shifted their attention elsewhere. The government in Kosovo has proved incapable of resolving problems and in many areas it has only made the existing problems worse … Therefore, unfortunately, the close bond between Albanians and Americans has dimmed. I think it can be re-established but we need to cooperate more closely; meanwhile, Kosovo’s European prospects must grow stronger.

The authorities believe that around 300 citizens from Kosovo have joined the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, a number that makes Kosovo the biggest contributor per capita in Europe. The Kosovo authorities have launched preventive measures but many believe that such measures have been insufficient. What is your opinion on this?

The authorities have said that around 300 Kosovars have joined the Islamic State. This is the official data. I however think that this number is much higher, probably around 1,000. Numbers however are not important. What is important is to highlight the lack of readiness by the Kosovo government to create employment opportunities and education, to give the young people of Kosovo hope and opportunities. The government is responsible for the internal policies, but the international community too has not done enough to help civil society or to support the government in the areas of economic and human development. The blame falls everywhere and meanwhile the world pays the price. Whoever goes to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State, that person is a threat when he returns home – the same goes for Kosovo – because they can use the skills they have acquired there to organize attacks and to target others.

In the whole “radicalism mosaic” in Kosovo, there is something that doesn’t make sense for many people: the fact that on the one hand, like you said in the beginning of the interview, the Albanian majority in Kosovo is strongly pro-American, pro-Western, but on the other hand there are these dangerous elements within this population. How would you explain this?

The overwhelming majority of the people of Kosovo are still pro-American and pro-Western, but the number of those that are becoming more radical is growing. These people are becoming radical for the exact same reasons as other Muslims elsewhere: they don’t think they have the same economic and educational opportunities as others, the recognition of Kosovo’s independence have stopped and I think that the number of countries that have recognized the state of Kosovo still stands at 110 … people feel they have limited opportunities. If the United States want to seriously fight violent extremism, then they must acknowledge their crucial role in bringing Kosovo closer, in encouraging the European Union to further integrate Kosovo, for example through visa liberalization or through a faster path toward EU membership. If this happens, we are going to see qualitative changes in the Kosovar society; the responsibility for making these changes is in the hands of Kosovars, but the United States of America and the international community can play a very important role in this respect.

What do you think is the source of radicalism in Kosovo and the region? Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia are facing the same problem. The grave economic and social conditions in Kosovo are not a recent problem are they?

The responsibility for this phenomenon falls on Kosovars and the local population. However, we should not underestimate the possibility of understanding the conniving role that Turkey is playing in the radicalization of the Western Balkans states. Turkey is exporting the Islamic agenda of the Party for Justice and Development [AKP], it is using the Turkish Agency for International Development and Cooperation as a mechanism to promote its ideological agenda, to support what it calls chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the world, by rebuilding mosques and other Islamic institutions. The process of de-radicalization lies in the hands of local leaders; they need to become independent from Turkey’s agenda and Kosovo must assume its merited place as a friend and ally of the United States of America and other Western countries.

Many countries have joined the coalition against the militant group, the Islamic State. This group has lost territory in 2015 in Syria and Iraq, but it is still standing … How and who can defeat it?

The only way to defeat is for the people who are directly impacted by the group to rise against the control of the Islamic State. The Kurds are the only ones who have shown the capacity and commitment in Syria and Iraq to oppose the Islamic State. The United States have supplied weapons and close air protection to the biggest Kurdish party in Syria, the PYD, and to Peshmerga in Kurdistan in Iraq. Their armament should increase and so should tactical cooperation in the battlefields. Closer cooperation is needed with these groups based on diplomatic initiatives. If Mr. Obama’s administration is serious about defeating the Islamic State and not only limiting it, by leaving it to the agenda of the next administration, then it must cooperate with local fighters. The Kurds are the only local fighters who have proved that they are worthy of partnership, the same way the Kosovo Liberation Army was in the 1990s. The United States must know that the Kurds are the only friends in the region and they need to increase security and political cooperation with the Kurds and support them in opposing the Islamic State and in regaining control over territories in Syria and Iraq.