Look into the situation in Kosovo, then select another area to research from the following list. An excellent source is the Washington Post's "World Special Reports" website at a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-srv/inatl/longterm/special.htm. Once you arrive at the site, click on the website headings in parentheses below for the independence movement you selected:

Kosovo (The Balkans)
The Palestinians (The Middle East)
Quebec (Canada report)
East Timor (Indonesia report)
The Kurds (Ocalan report)
Nagorno-Karabakh (Post-Soviet era)

For Discussion As a class, put your findings together in a large chart on the board or across a wall of the classroom. Look over the cases and evaluate:

1. Which movement has involved the most violence? The least? What accounts for the difference?

2. Which movement is most likely to achieve its goal? Which is least? What are the notable differences between these two cases?

3. To which movements are you most and least sympathetic? Why? Are all movements for self-determination equally valid? What principles would you like to see applied as the United Nations, the United States, nato and others take positions on questions of statehood around the world?

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