Music

People Don’t Know If They Should Cancel Dua Lipa Over A Curious ‘Greater Albania’ Tweet

A recent tweet by the popstar caused #DuaLipaIsOverParty to trend - but even stans are confused about what's going on.

by Jared Richards  21 July 2020
Dua Lipa tweets support for 'greater Albania', and stans weigh in on geopolitical debate

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Dua Lipa’s use of the word “autochthonous” alongside a picture of a proposed Greater Albania has sent her fans into a geopolitical head-spin, as they try to work out whether or not the pop star is fighting for the autonomy of a disenfranchised people or leaning into fascist ideology.

Dua, who was born and raised in London but has Alabanian parents and spent part of her childhood in Kosovo, tweeted an image of Albania alongside a definition of the word “autochthonous” as a way to argue that Kosovars are Indigenous peoples of Albania “rather than descended from migrants or colonists”.

Dua’s image of Albania includes several territories from neighbouring countries, including Greece and Kosovo, which annexed from Serbia in 2008 and is a partially-recognised separate state.

The term has been used by right-wing groups to call for a Greater Albania, which would involve ‘taking back’ land from neighbouring Balkan countries on ethno-nationalistic arguments. It’s a contentious geopolitical discussion that dates back to the Ottoman empire.

In short, it’s incredibly complex — and Dua’s tweet, accidentally or not, calls for more war in the Balkans. The image she used also harks back to WWII, and was used by Nazis. Back in 2014, it was flown above a football game between Albania and Serbia, and incited brawls between both teams and the crowd.

It really gives Future Nostalgia‘s title a second meaning, for one, and now fans are trying to work out whether 2020’s ‘pop saviour’ is a neo-fascist or human rights advocate. The debate’s far more than the average stan signed up for, but these are the ‘New Rules’ now.

For the record, political scientist and ‘Balkan expert’ Florian Bieber called Dua’s tweet “stupid nationalism”, pointing out that autochthonous arguments could be made by other ethnicities in the exact same territories.

“Probably Dua Lipa doesn’t know, but this map represents the same kind of exclusionary and also aggressive nationalism as any other. It claims that one group has more rights because it was there earlier, which is not a credible claim considering that nations are modern,” he tweeted.

“The map also suggests some territory to which Albanians are “autochthonous” and thus have ownership, but others live on the same territory, Serbs, Montenegrins, Greeks, Bosniaks, Macedonians. They all can claim to be equally autochthonous.”

It’s a complex, decades-spanning debate that affects a region torn apart by war again and again in the 20th century. In stan world, they are now calling Dua a “supreme Karen” and using the hashtag #DuaLipaIsOverParty. It’s quite a lot to take in: find some of the takes below.