southeastern europe

The Name Issue Revisited, an Anthology of Academic Articles  is finally now out. Part I: The Name Issue in the Context  of International Law Matthew CR Craven – What’s in a Name? The Republic of Macedonia  and Issues of Statehood............................................................................... 17 Jean-Pierre Queneudec – The Name and Symbols of the State  in International Law....................................................................................55 Larry Reimer – Macedonia: Cultural Right or Cultural Appropriation?..................... 61 Carlos Flores Juberías – Putting the Name Issue in a Comparative Perspective ..........79 Jana Lozanoska – The True Substance of the Name Issue: Consequences  of an Invented Dispute for the Republic of Macedonia...............................95 Budislav Vukas – The 1995 Interim Accord and Membership of the  Republic of Macedonia in International Organizations............................. 113 Ernest Petrič – “Legal

After months of a bitter confrontation between Macedonia's ruling coalition and the opposition and a protracted boycott of the Sobranie by the opposition SDSM as well as the smaller NDP, NSDP, ND and LPD, voters in the Republic of Macedonia (and the diaspora where for the first time three representatives were to be elected) have gone to the polls.  Despite declarations of success by political leaders from the major parties, the results are characterized by considerable complexity. The incumbent Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, has managed to win his third consecutive election, confirming his and his party's hegemony over Macedonia's politics. This achievement cannot be underestimated; under Gruevski, VMRO-DMPNE has indisputably become hegemonic in Macedonian politics, almost impervious to criticisms of its often authoritarian style of government. His majority however is much more reduced and a VMRO-DMPNE government is likely to have a less easy ride in the Sobranie. 

A voice of desperation originally published in http://www.lalibre.be Balkans La Macédoine, une démocratie en danger Mis en ligne le 01/07/2010 La Grèce continue fermement à bloquer toute candidature de la Macédoine tant que la dispute sur le nom qui oppose les deux pays ne sera pas résolue. Une opinion de Tanja Milevska de la TV macédonienne Van Gijsel La présidence belge de l’ UE a commencé et malgré la tempête politique, s’il y a une chose à laquelle la Belgique a toujours été dévouée, c’est bien l’ Europe . Le Premier Ministre sortant, Yves Leterme , l’a confirmé, l’élargissement restera une priorité européenne sous présidence belge. Mais pour nous qui suivons de près ce dossier, il est très clair qu’une fois encore, il sera réduit surtout à des paroles d’encouragement pour les pays des Balkans occidentaux à continuer le processus de réformes visant à les rapprocher des standards européens, et encore une fois il sera répété que la destination finale

Premised on the view that facilitating a compromise between the respective parties to the name issue requires a better understanding of the multi-layered character of the dispute, the historically conditioned perspectives of the parties, and the main actors and their perceived interests, my article in Transconflict attempts to suggest a way forward. After almost two decades since Macedonia declared its independence, one of the major obstacles to Macedonian aspirations of integration into Europe remains the notorious ‘name dispute’ between Macedonia and Greece. The most frequently rehearsed rendition of this stresses that Greece is concerned about the use of the name ‘Macedonia’ constituting an act of usurpation of its history and a misnomer for irredentist plans to bring about a Greater Macedonia at its expense. On the other hand, Macedonians argue that this is the name in which the majority of the young republic recognize themselves, their language, their land and their