The Macedonian quandary in the post-Yugoslav era: Identity disputes of North Macedonia with Greece and Bulgaria

• Autor(a) principal: Yerkoy, Samet
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/30281
• topic: North Macedonia; Greece; Bulgaria; Naming dispute; EU; NATO; Macedónia do Norte; Grécia; Bulgária; Disputa de nomenclatura; UE; OTAN

In 1991, diplomatic talks took place between Greece and the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, covering issues such as naming dispute, minority rights, and historical symbols. Greece expressed deep concern about the newly founded state's claim to Macedonia's name and historical heritage, viewing this as a profound threat to its national identity. To address this issue, the Republic of North Macedonia adopted a new name in 2019 to ease tensions and gain international recognition. However, challenges persisted. Later, Bulgaria intervened and demanded the renaming of the Macedonian language. Bulgaria stressed that North Macedonia's EU membership depends not only on resolving historical and linguistic issues with Greece but also with other neighboring countries. This intervention reignited tensions and raised doubts about the legitimacy of the Macedonian identity on the world stage, adding complexity to North Macedonia's EU membership aspirations. Shifting focus, this dissertation explores the complex layers of Macedonian identity, examining its mix of Slavic and ancient Macedonian elements and its impact on the broader national identity. The study also critically analyzes the ongoing identity dispute between Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria, using constructivist and ontological security perspectives to comprehensively understand the complex and persistent issues in this protracted dispute.