Macedonia’s Long Transition: From Independence to the Prespa Agreement and Beyond

Acknowledgements
A Chronology of Key Events During Macedonia’s Long Transition
1 Introduction
	References
2 Macedonia’s Long Transition: An Overview of the Key Issues
	Macedonia’s Relations with Its Five Neighbouring States
		Serbia
		Bulgaria
		Albania
		Kosovo
	The Name Dispute with Greece and Its Resolution
	The Euro-Atlantic Project
	Illegal Wiretapping and the Colourful Revolution
	Corruption, Backsliding and State Capture
	Relations Between Macedonia and Russia
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
3 Macedonia’s Revolving Security Threats: Perpetual Instability on the Edge of Europe
	Structural Shortages of the New State (1991–1995)
	Regional Security Calculations in Retreat (1995–2001)
	Internal Conflict and Beyond (2001–2008)
	The NATO Summit in 2008: A Critical Milestone
	Newly-Emerging Challenges
		Political Islam in the Secular Region
		Macedonia and the Middle Eastern Refugees
		Domestic Authoritarian Tendencies
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
4 The Impossible Reconciliation of Historical Narratives: The Macedonian Name Dispute and Prospects for the Future
	Overview of the Issue
	The Greek Position on the ‘Name Dispute’
	The Macedonian Position on the ‘Name Dispute’
	Clashing National Narratives and Nation-Building
	Legal Solutions
	Political Solutions
	A Post Scriptum Note
	Notes
	References
5 The Economic Transition of Macedonia
	Economic Developments at the Crossroads
	The Denar and the Stabilisation Programmes
	Open Economy, (Political) Instability and Exogenous Shocks
	The Economy on the Road to the EU
	Large Emigration to Undermine Growth and Development Potentials?
	Recent Economic Developments
	References
6 Privatisation in Macedonia and Communities in Transition
	The Law on Socially Owned Capital (Marković Law, 1989)
	The Law on the Transformation of Enterprises with Social Capital (1993)
	The Privatisation Models
	The Evolution of Ownership Structure After Privatisation
	The Progress of the Privatisation Process on the Transition Period in Macedonia
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
7 Political Parties and the Trials of Democracy
	The Evolution of the Macedonian Political Party System
	The Challenge of Intra-Party Democracy in Macedonia
		The Faction Dilemma
		Who Elects Whom and Who Is (Ir)responsible?—The Problem of Vertical Accountability
		The Strong President and the Partocracy
		The Political Clientele
	Political Dialogue and Contentious Politics
		Where Informality Prevails
	Conclusion
	Annex
	Note
	References
8 Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration
	Introduction
	Two External and Two Internal Problems
	EU Integration Trough Inter-Ethnic Reconciliation
	Intra-Ethnic Dialogue as an EU Political Precondition
	Conclusions
	Notes
	References
9 Migration Movements and Their Implications for Macedonia
	The Right of the Free Movement of People in Macedonia
	The Macedonian Experience of the Refugee Crisis
	The Macedonian Legal Framework and Its Alignment with the EU Acquis in the Field of Migration and Asylum
	Concluding Remarks
	Notes
	References
10 The Identity Shift: Claims on Antiquity in Macedonian Fiction and Drama
	The Return of Antiquity
	Defensive ‘Anticomania’, Corruptive Entourage?
	Literary and Theatrical Refractions of Identity
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
11 The Dissonant Narratives of the Skopje 2014 Project
	The Skopje 2014 Project—The Visualisation of a Re-created Macedonian Identity
	Dissonant Voices
	Conclusion
	References
12 An Analysis of Bulgaria’s Rejection of the Macedonian Ethno-Linguistic Identity and Its Implications
	Introduction
	How a Bilateral Issue Was Internationalized
	Why Does Bulgaria Reject the Macedonian Ethno-Linguistic Identity?
	What Is the Rationale Behind Bulgaria’s Position?
	Conclusion
	References
13 And Beyond: An Afterword
	References
Index