Macedonian Question

The Macedonia naming dispute has been an important issue in Greek affairs. It constitutes both an irresolvable, decades-old international problem and a significant, yet undertheorised, analytical topic. In this context, our aim is to critically explore, highlight and discuss the deep-seated and pervasive patterns, representations, attitudes, beliefs, ideas and norms within the Greek social imaginary, as these emerged on Twitter in real-time, during the mass “Macedonia rally” on February 4, 2018. More specifically, drawing on the dialectical interaction between Twitter posts, sociopolitical behaviours and interpretative analytic frames linked to interdisciplinary theoretical discourses, we attempt to understand and interrogate the intellectual structures, value system and operational categories of a large number of Greek groups on the ‘Twittersphere’. Based on the assumption that, in the last instance, the rigid refusal of the majority of the Greek people to accept a ‘composite name’...

The present study aims to identify certain social dividing lines, fractures and motivations that accelerated the rise in political murders and everyday violence after the Ilinden Uprising. The contribution of foreign intervention (including both the attempts of the great powers to settle the question and the propagandistic activity of neighboring small states) and local traditions (customs) to the nature and extent of violence are also investigated. The authors will also consider the shift in the support policy of neighboring small states from construction to destruction—including the issues of economic benefit and local acceptance at a time when selection of an identity no longer entailed only advantages, but imposed threats as well. During this period the boundaries between the vari ous types of violent action triggered either by religious and school conflict or customs gradually faded, while Chetas became highly organized and self-subsistent through cultivatio n and smuggling of ...

The Friendship Treaty between Sofia and Skopje was one of the first foreign policy achievements of the newly formed Zoran Zaev-led government in 2017. It was presented as a closure of the long-lasting bilateral dispute between the two neighbouring countries, which would remove one obstacle on the way to EU integration. However, the subsequent Prespa agreement (signed almost a year later) took all the glory and public attention. The Friendship Treaty's real political weight and imperfections became obvious only in December 2020, when the Bulgarian veto prevented the opening of the negotiation process for the country. The article analyses and evaluates the Treaty and its implication through the political and legal lenses. The basic premise is that instead of paving the way to the full EU membership, the hastily signed agreement proved to be not only a new obstacle on the road but also a factor of deepening mutual distrust and tensions between the two peoples. The twist with the introduction of the new methodology of EU enlargement along with the Bulgarian veto makes the Balkan entanglement even more complex. The Macedonian state is back to square one, just like in the dispute with Greece, now being knotted with another bilateral dispute and identity issues that have nothing to do with good neighbourly relations and/or Copenhagen criteria. Conversely, this downplayed dispute may have a strong impact on the Macedonian state's viability in the mid-and long run. The key conclusion is that the stalemate of the EU enlargement process is at the same time a cause and a consequence of Brussel's inability to understand and resolve the protracted conflicts in the Balkans as well as a proof that EU membership is not a panacea for the age-old nationalism and chauvinism.

Macedonia has so far failed to operate a pluralist party system although its current legislatives have been designed so as to provide the politicians with the means to found and implement a real multi-cultural democracy in the country. In this failure the struggle of the parties to reap the benefits of the public patronage seems to have played a pivotal role. MAKEDONYA: TOPLULUKLAR ARASI SIYASET ÜZERINDEKI

We are glad to present a Polish–Macedonian volume about modern phenomena, challenges and problems reviewed in social and educational perspective. The publication was prepared within the cooperation between Polish academic units and St. Clement of Ohrid University of Bitola (Универзитет Св. Климент Охридски – Битола). The aim of the mono-graph is an attempt to outline the most important contemporary problems, issues and also changes in the social and educational space. The authors – in the wide interdisciplinary perspective – attempt to set and confront the above-mentioned in the perspective of the two distant countries that seem not to have much in common, yet, are extremely similar and close to each other. Macedonia is one of the youngest countries of the Balkan peninsula. This country – proclaimed a state on 2 August 1944 – was part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia until 1991. The election carried out in 1990, and a referendum carried out on 8 September 1991, set a new direction for internal transformations and paved the way for national inde-pendence, of which the crowning moment was the proclamation of the Inde-pendent Republic of Macedonia on 17 November 1991. Currently, Macedonia has been facing a number of challenges which resemble greatly the problems Poland faced in the 1990’s, right after the system transfor-mation, gaining independence from the “block” and preparing for integration with Western Europe and its structures. These problems are, among others, connected with the young age of the democratic system, the dynanmics of socio-economic changes including those resulting from country’s long dependency from Belgrad. Macedonia, as a country on the edge of cultures, is characterized by diversity, rich cultural traditions, which in the context of modern geopolitics are both a capital and a load. Legacy of the ancient times and Byzantium, 500 years of Turkish reign, diverse folklore, multi-ethnic character, national identity problems – including nationalisms, prob-lems with stabilization of the young country resulting from historical condi-tions and difficult neighborhood in the context of modern geopolitics – these are only some of the issues from a wide catalogue of such. This publication is, however, not a book about Macedonia. The per-spective of two distant, but experiencing similar moments of history and undergoing similar changes, countries is a point of reference for the attempts to answer the questions focused around the most pressing problems and challenges of modern times. Such an arrangement, due to the distance of 1.500 kilometers, may seem peculiar. However, as we gain the knowledge about the matter, the numerous similarities between Macedo-nians and Poles, which are visible in almost every sphere of life, especially in the matter of mentality become more important than geographic and cultural distance. Mecodonian discourse in Poland has been carried out successfully, especially in work of professor Maciej Kawka and professor Irena Stawowy-Kawka. It is worth mentioning that in Macedonia, cultural and historical issues of Poland are not considered distant. Moreover, Poles are widely recognized and welcomed in the young country, partly because of the relations established due to crisis situations which the state had to face in the XX century. Poland was also one of the first countries that acknowl-edged the independence of Macedonia. The authors of the book present the selected contemporary key prob-lems, phenomena and challenges in social and educational space. They discuss the future and directions of development as well as dangers and threats, challenges, chances and problems in the area of modern social changes, also in the context of accession to and entering the EU structures as well as geopolitical, cultural and economic conditions both in Polish and Macedo-nian perspective. The publication presents reflections, comparisons, research results and observations in interdisciplinary manner, especially in the educational, sociological and cultural space. We hope that the book will find its place in the successful and even more popular Polish-Macedonian discourse and will contribute to it. Michał Szyszka Łukasz Tomczyk Valentina Gulewska Dobri Petrowski

Σκο­πός της με­λέ­της μας είναι η ανά­δει­ξη του Μα­κε­δο­νι­κού Ζη­τή­μα­τος μέ­σα από μια άλ­λη εστί­α­ση: τη δρά­ση που επεν­δύ­θη­κε από τα έθνη-κρά­τη στο πε­δίο της εκ­παί­δευ­σης. Πραγ­μα­τι­κά η εκ­παί­δευ­ση, ενταγ­μέ­νη στο πλαί­σιο του εθνι­κι­σμού, εμπλου­τί­στη­κε με στρα­τη­γι­κές που απο­σκο­πού­σαν στην αφο­μοί­ω­ση των αλ­λό­γλωσ­σων πλη­θυ­σμών στο εσω­τε­ρι­κό των νε­ό­τευ­κτων εθνών-κρα­τών των Βαλ­κα­νί­ων, άρα στην κα­τα­σκευή της εθνι­κής τους ταυ­τό­τη­τας. Οι στρα­τη­γι­κές αυτές επε­κτά­θη­καν και σε αλυ­τρω­τι­κές δι­εκ­δι­κή­σεις που σχε­τί­ζο­νταν με την δι­εύ­ρυν­ση των εδα­φι­κών ορί­ων των νε­ό­τευ­κτων εθνών-κρα­τών. Kάτα ομά­δα στό­χος των δι­εκ­δι­κή­σε­ων αυτών ήταν κά­θε φο­ρά εκεί­νη η οποία εξυ­πη­ρε­τού­σε την αλυ­τρω­τι­κή πο­λι­τι­κή τους. Έτσι, άλ­λο­τε οι δι­εκ­δι­κή­σεις τους αφο­ρού­σαν σε εθνο­τι­κές ομά­δες που είχαν δι­χο­το­μη­θεί ή τρι­χο­το­μη­θεί, έν­θεν κα­κεί­θεν των συ­νό­ρων τους, τα οποία είχαν χα­ρα­χτεί με τη συν­θή­κη του Βου­κου­ρε­στίου, το 1913. Άλ­λο­τε πά­λι η αλυ­τρω­τι­κή προ­πα­γάν­δα επε­κτει­νό­ταν σε γλωσ­σι­κές μει­ο­νό­τη­τες, συ­μπα­γείς πυ­ρή­νες των οποί­ων δι­α­βι­ού­σαν στις γει­το­νι­κές βαλ­κα­νι­κές χώ­ρες. Τα βαλ­κα­νι­κά στα οποία δι­α­βι­ού­σαν γλωσ­σι­κές μει­ο­νό­τη­τες ή εθνο­τι­κές ομά­δες που απο­τε­λού­σαν το «μή­λο της έρι­δας», ανέ­πτυσ­σαν στρα­τη­γι­κές αφο­μοί­ω­σής τους, οι οποί­ες εκ­κι­νού­σαν από την εκ­παί­δευ­σή τους και έφτα­ναν ως την βί­αιη εν­σω­μά­τω­σή τους.

The present work is intended to analyse the actions carried out by Alexander the Great at Persepolis to, lastly, achieve an interpretation of the events and the fire. These objectives will be attained through the division and analysis of all the details available for Alexander’s study in Persepolis: the background, the archaeological data, the literary sources and the interpretative currents that have had the greatest impact among historians.

Το παρόν κείμενο σχολιάζει τρεις εκδόσεις με σαφές πολιτικό στίγμα:
πρώτον, το βιβλίο του δημοσιογράφου Νίκου Στέφου με τίτλο Ώρα Ελλάδος, Βουκουρέστι… (Αθήνα: Έναστρον, 2018). Δεύτερον, το βιβλίο
που έγραψαν από κοινού ο καθηγητής Άγγελος Συρίγος (Πάντειο) και
ο καθηγητής Ευάνθης Χατζηβασιλείου (ΕΚΠΑ) με τίτλο Η Συμφωνία
των Πρεσπών για το Μακεδονικό (Αθήνα: Πατάκης 2018). Τρίτον, το
βιβλίο του καθηγητή Σπυρίδωνα Σφέτα (ΑΠΘ) Οι μεταλλάξεις του Μακεδονικού–Ο μακρύς δρόμος προς τις Πρέσπες (Αθήνα: Σιδέρης, 2018)

The Macedonia naming dispute has been an important issue in Greek affairs. It constitutes both an irresolvable, decades-old international problem and a significant, yet undertheorised, analytical topic. In this context, our aim is to critically explore, highlight and discuss the deep-seated and pervasive patterns, representations, attitudes, beliefs, ideas and norms within the Greek social imaginary, as these emerged on Twitter in real-time, during the mass “Macedonia rally” on February 4, 2018. More specifically, drawing on the dialectical interaction between Twitter posts, sociopolitical behaviours and interpretative analytic frames linked to interdisciplinary theoretical discourses, we attempt to understand and interrogate the intellectual structures, value system and operational categories of a large number of Greek groups on the ‘Twittersphere’. Based on the assumption that, in the last instance, the rigid refusal of the majority of the Greek people to accept a ‘composite name’...

The article argues that Bulgaria's approach since 1989 was based on three key constant principles: first, support for the independence and for the statehood of the new Republic of Macedonia; second, the countering and dismantling of Macedonianism (in its 'Yugoslav' and 'antiquated' versions alike) both as a provocative construct of history and as Skopje's foreign policy practice; third, seeking of solutions within the wider EU and NATO framework and support for the Republic of (North) Macedonia's integration into NATO and EU structures.

1877-1878 Osmanlı Rus Savaşından itibaren Rumeli vilayetlerinde Osmanlı idaresinin günlerinin sayılı olduğu algısı yaygınlaşınca, bölgede Osmanlı sonrasının paylaşımı için Bulgar, Yunan ve Sırplar arasında amansız bir mücadele başladı. Bu mücadele diplomatik misyonlar, kiliseler, okullar ve nihayet silahlı çeteler arasındaydı. 1902 yılına gelindiğinde Büyük Güçlerin müdahale tehdidi sonucu Makedonya’da reform paketlerini kabule başlayan Babıali, 2. Meşrutiyetin ilanına kadar 6 yıllık sürede ağırlıklı olarak Yunan ve Bulgar çetelerinin faaliyetlerini önlemeye çalıştı. Bulgar komitacılarının faaliyetleri Türk akademik çevrelerinde çalışılmışsa da Yunan konsoloslukları ve subaylarının sevk ve idaresindeki Rum çetelerinin faaliyetleri üzerinde yeterince çalışma yapılmadığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada 1902-1908 arasında Yunan çetelerinin çalışma yöntemleri ve sonuçları ile Osmanlı Devletinin bunlara karşı takip ettiği politika incelenmiştir. Ayrıca dönemin çete faaliyetlerinin Yunan be...