Republic of (Northern) Macedonia: from Struggle for Identity to Battle of Identities
Republic of (Northern) Macedonia: from Struggle for Identity to Battle of Identities

Author(s): Ivan Stoychev Vinarov
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Politics of History/Memory
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: ancient Macedonians; identity; Republic of (Northern) Macedonia; social engineering
Summary/Abstract: On September 30, 2018, a historic referendum took place in Macedonia, after whichthe country faces more questions than those of the time before. The great "battle of identities",launched with the proclamation of independence from the SFRY, is a unique phenomenon in worldpolitics. It leads not only to arbitrary interpretation (i.e. theft) of history as it was until a decadeago. A paradoxical process unfolds: creating a new story – reversing the past to restructure thefuture in a different way. Unique in this case is that the identity of a small Balkan people turns outto be dependent on election results, popular polls, coalitions, and the ability to meet the claims ofone or other neighboring country on their own state and public policy and legal order. Can theidentity of the Macedonians be determined unambiguously? And has Macedonia been tired of thewhole world, as interpretations appeared in some post-refereed analyzes? This report is an initialattempt to place these complex, fundamental questions on the academic agenda.

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