The Student Movement in Macedonia 2014-2016
The Student Movement in Macedonia 2014-2016

Formation of a New Identity and Modes of Contention

Summary/Abstract: The university student movement in Macedonia presented a change in the context of the country’s societal and political space. It started in late 2014 and several other movements subsequently followed. However, it was the university student movement which set some modular forms of contention that were later replicated by other movements. What does the student movement tell us about youth participation and contention in Macedonia? What is the vision that students have of their society? How do they perceive their role within it? The article aims to analyze how agency was constructed through the student protests which enabled the development of a new collective identity and the articulation of the role of students through various forms of contention. The paper examines the university student movement in Skopje between 2014 and 2016 and analyzes the forms of contention that were employed and what purpose they served. It examines the effects and the meaning of the student movement, namely the reclamation of agency by young people, their vision of society and their newly established identity as students.

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