Education, gender and religion: identity transformations among Kosovo Albanians in London.

This paper explores identity transformations of the Kosovo Albanian diaspora in the United Kingdom by focusing on the dimensions of education, gender and religion. Taking into account both the structural factors of the adopted country and the impact of a strong sense of nationhood based on traditional beliefs and mores, the analysis traces the emergence of internal lines of identity differentiation within the Albanian community in a diasporic context. The uniform interpretation of the Albanian identity is under growing pressure to incorporate alternative views of Albanianhood as they emerge from the process of interaction with the political, social, economic and cultural environment of the host country. The paper shows that the persistence of a commitment to such a rigidly defined sense of nationhood has thus far stopped these alternative views from turning into lines of division within the Kosovo Albanian diaspora. It posits that a constructive internal redefinition of the Albanian identity in the UK is necessary in order to forestall the process of fragmentation of the Kosovo Albanian diaspora community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]