In 1999, Albanian American community leaders sat with President Bill Clinton in the White House, discussing NATO’s intervention in Yugoslavia—a moment that played a pivotal role in Kosovo’s path to independence. How did a small ethnic community of roughly 250,000 people gain such remarkable political influence in the United States? Ethnic Interest Groups and U.S. Foreign Policy: The Albanian-American Movements offers a front-row seat to the evolution of Albanian American political activism, uncovering the strategies, movements, and relationships that helped shape U.S. foreign policy.
Drawing from exclusive interviews, firsthand observations, and declassified documents, it traces the three defining political movements of Albanian Americans, from an early 20th century struggle for Albanian statehood to the grassroots movement’s political access and influence at the highest levels today. With deep analysis and untold stories, Ethnic Interest Groups and U.S. Foreign Policy: The Albanian-American Movements reveals how a determined diaspora transformed its influence from the fringes of U.S. politics to the heart of American foreign policy.
The book is essential reading for scholars and students studying the impact of interest groups on American foreign policy, Balkan history and contemporary issues, diaspora movements, and immigration and ethnic identity development generally.