What are the domestic consequences of symbolic conflict resolution? We isolate the effect of symbolic conflict by looking into a dispute with no material stakes (for one side), but high symbolic ...ones: the Prespa Agreement, which ended the dispute on the name of FYROM, thenceforth named North Macedonia. Greeks opposed this name because the ancient Macedonian heritage is central to their national identity. Based on social identity theory, we expect this threat to the group’s distinctiveness to increase nationalist sentiment. Using an original dataset of flags displayed in the façade of buildings in Athens and Thessaloniki, which we compare to Lisbon, we find an increase in national flags in the Greek cities after the Agreement. The effect is stronger in Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia’s capital, where the identity threat was more pronounced. We also find that the treaty shifted voters to the right, especially those residing in the region of Macedonia.
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The Constitutional Court is entitled to play the role of a protector of the Constitution as well as to be an ultimate guardian of the rule of law. Whether and how successful the Macedonian ...Constitutional Court is in its role is not a question of any subjective assessment. On the contrary, it is an issue that calls for an overall objective and critical analysis of its actions. Particularly in 2017 and 2018, many unconstitutional political activities took place, on which the Constitutional Court decided to remain mute. It did not rule on the constitutionality of the amendments, remained silent on the referendum and the Prespa Agreement (PA). Practically, on the key issues of importance for the state - its name, history, and identity - the Court did not take any position, which has devastating effects on the institution and rule of law in general. Bearing in mind that the Constitution does not contain prohibitions or clauses that would prevent altering of certain constitutional provisions (as numerous constitutions have), with the2018 constitutional amendments (published in the “Official Gazette” on 12 January 2019), the Macedonian Parliament amended the constitutional provisions that go into the essence of Macedonian statehood and nationhood – i.e., historical facts were changed in the Preamble as well as the name of the state. In the light of the fact that the constitutional amendments were adopted under pressure to implement the unconstitutional PA, concluded by an incompetent body (the Minister of Foreign Affairs), contrary to the existing laws, the Constitution, and the international law, then the question of the role of the Constitutional Court in these events gains extra weight. The paper deals with the failure of the Constitutional Court to act when the most essential (national) issues were at stake, until the day of writing this paper.
The Macedonian name dispute, a political debate between Greece and the current Republic of North Macedonia, arose after the break-up of the multi-ethnic Yugoslavia. The issue was overpoliticized for ...the societies of both countries. The international community followed the dispute, yet it did not exercise any pressure on Greece to cede in a debate seen by many as the stronger bullying the weaker. A breakthrough became achievable when political forces interested in the resolution came into power in both countries in the mid-2010s. The Prespa Agreement, signed in 2018, offered a mutually acceptable resolution and opened the way for North Macedonia to enter the NATO and to the opening of accession talks with the EU in March 2020.
This article intends to analyze the issue of constitutional reforms in Macedonia, as implemented under the Prespa agreement – an international agreement signed on June 17th 2018 by the foreign ...ministers of the Republic of Macedonia and Greece in presence of the UN mediator Matthew Nimetz. According to the agreement, Macedonia should change its name to North Macedonia so that the official name of the country is the Republic of North Macedonia. Officially, the Prespa agreement is called the “Final agreement” which resolves the disputes shown in the 1993 UN Security Council resolutions no. 817 and 845, and replaces the 1995 Interim agreement between Greece and Macedonia. The aim is to establish a strategic partnership between the parties and to allow the Republic of Macedonia to join the EU and NATO. The main purpose of this article is to create a clearer picture of the European aspirations of the Republic of Macedonia, the problems it faces and the price it has been paying regarding the aftermath of Yugoslavia’s break-up.
The Prespa agreement on the Macedonian name issue is the turning point in resolving the long-standing Greek-Macedonian dispute which has hampered Macedonia's bid to enter the EU and NATO. At the same ...time the newly found compromise was greeted with harsh criticism by both Greek and Macedonian citizens and seen as a threat to their national identities. Against the background of mass protests in both countries and the lack of consensus among the leading political parties the ratification of the agreement is going to become more complex and time-consuming than originally planned
Since 2001 the inter-ethnic relations between the two largest ethno-national communities in the Republic of Macedonia have been regulated by the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA). Describing it as an ...attempt at Complex Power Sharing, the article explores the synthesis (in theory and in practice) between the Agreement’s consociational and integrationist tenets. Situating the genesis and implementation of the OFA at the intersection of internal and international relations and processes, it considers the influence of two strongly interrelated processes: the country’s neoliberal transformation and its accession path to the EU and NATO. Specific internal and international developments in the post-2001 period are analyzed in order to illustrate the entrenchment of consociationalism at the expense of integrationism. As a result of these mutually reinforcing structures and processes, it is argued, inter-ethnic relations in the country have become a zero-sum game, which has eroded the scope for sustainable conflict resolution and inter-ethnic stability
This article examines Greece and North Macedonia's parliamentary ratifications of the Prespa Agreement. Given the decisive role of national parliaments in the process of the agreement's success, the ...article investigates to what extent this specific institutional setting influenced the dispute concerning the bilateral agreement. The article poses the following question: which factors explain support and opposition towards the agreement within the two national parliaments? We found that two conflicting models of parliamentary representation characterized the type of support for or opposition to the agreement: the trustee and the representative models. Drawing on an analysis of the vote outcomes and a qualitative discourse analysis of the plenary debates, the article demonstrates that whereas the governing parties in both states adhered to the trustee model - prioritizing their international responsibility and the state's collective interests - opposition parties acted as representatives of specific sub-groups of voters and their particularistic interests or identities.
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The Macedonia name dispute was resolved in 2018 with the signing of the Prespa Agreement. Ambassador Nimetz – one of the key players in the solution efforts – queried recently “Why did it take us so ...long?”, echoing the confusion of foreign observers about what has routinely been seen as an incomprehensible spat. This article provides more context about the past intractability of the dispute by focusing on the role of Greek public opinion. Taking stock of the literature on the relationship between foreign policy-making and public opinion, our analysis identifies key parameters for investigating the influence of Greek public opinion on policy. We test these parameters against empirical data from a comprehensive poll on the name dispute that was conducted in 2016, only a few months before the start of the negotiations that led to the Prespa Agreement. Our analysis demonstrates the extent and depth of the Greek public’s opposition to any compromise, as well as the emotional involvement in the Macedonia name dispute. The findings have implications for our understanding of the process that led to the settlement of the dispute as well as the challenges of implementing the agreement.
The article tries to explain and define political processes and changes trhough history of the 'new' Western Balkans country - the Republic of North Macedonia. It is word about analysis of the ...political dispute between Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece, from its biginnings until the present day. This paper will try to give the real picture of political area in the Balkans and explore deeper roots of the 'Macedonian Question' controversy. Also, it will give the explinations of the resolution of 27-year dispute, (between the two neighbor countries), by signing the Prespa Agreement. Hence, leaving by side national identity and history, the North Macedonia will be able to join the European Union and NATO. Thus, in short period of time, a 'new' country in the Western Balkans has putted in the center of the regional politics, with clear purpose: promoting ethnic and cultural heritance in the edge of the European continent.
In the present article, we discuss the future and prospects of the Prespa Agreement, concluded on June 17, 2018, between Macedonia and Greece aiming at resolving their “difference”over the name of ...Macedonia. The analysis is carried out by examining the legal aspects of UnitedNations Security Council Resolution 817 (1993) recommending the admission of Macedonia to UN membership but imposing on the applicant a provisional name (pending the settlement of difference over the applicant’s name), in particular its legal consistence with the provisions ofVienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) and with the general jus cogens norms of International Law enshrined in the UN Charter. It is concluded that the UN SC Res. 817 (1993) is by itself an ultra vires act and cannot serve as a legal basis for the Prespa Agreement (ex injuria jus not oritur), that the Prespa Agreement violates the provisions of the Vienna Convention onthe Law of Treaties and the peremptory norms of International Law, particularly the principle ofself-determination and enters into legal matters that belong stricto sensu to the domain of domestic jurisdiction of Macedonia. For these reasons the Prespa Agreement cannot be considereda legally valid treaty and, consequently, and Agreement can be subject to unilateral termination under provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969). The appropriate measure of activity in the case of the illegal treaty is to terminate the Agreement with a diplomatic note, as a unilateral legal act expressing a will of the state.
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