Macedonia on the brink
Authoritarian tendencies, ethnonationalist state-building and segregation of the two largest communities make for a combustible mix. Even if the protests have died down, Macedonia is probably the only...
View ArticleEthnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995 – part eight
TransConflict is pleased to present part eight of a chapter of “Confronting the Yugoslav controversies – a scholars’ initiative”, entitled “Ethnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995”, which “aims at...
View ArticleEthnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995 – part nine
TransConflict is pleased to present part nine of a chapter of “Confronting the Yugoslav controversies – a scholars’ initiative”, entitled “Ethnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995”, which “aims at...
View ArticleEthnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995 – part eleven
TransConflict is pleased to present part eleven of a chapter of “Confronting the Yugoslav controversies – a scholars’ initiative”, entitled “Ethnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995”, which “aims at...
View ArticleEthnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995 – part twelve
TransConflict is pleased to present part twelve of a chapter of “Confronting the Yugoslav controversies – a scholars’ initiative”, entitled “Ethnic cleansing and war crimes, 1991-1995”, which “aims at...
View ArticleCasino Macedonia – of spies, traitors, and patriots
Espionage, wiretappings and attempted coup d’etats…just what is going on in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia? Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT By Elena B. Stavrevska There are two...
View ArticleAnd where do we go from here? Macedonia and the EU
From today’s perspective, it seems amazing to think that Macedonia was actually one of the frontrunners on the road to European integration in the Balkans, even before the most recent member of the EU...
View ArticleThe deep roots of Macedonia’s current turmoil – and the way forward
The country must avoid just replacing the driver in the seat of a captured state machinery – by increasing inclusion and pluralism in governance. This will be impossible without EU and NATO assistance....
View ArticleCall for solidarity with Macedonia’s protesters
We urge the global public, kindred movements, and people across the globe to support this Call for Solidarity as we fear a violent institutional repression of citizens’ resistance in Macedonia....
View ArticleMacedonia – anatomy of a crisis
Like putting a plaster on a wound that has not been cleaned, an EU-mediated deal to stabilise (but not necessarily democratise) the country is being negotiated behind closed doors. Suggested Reading...
View ArticleNegotiating the release of Macedonia’s captured state
Fred Halliday proposed to recharge International Relations theory with central themes and concepts of classical sociology. This implied going below the level of realist interstate geopolitics and...
View ArticleWhy Macedonia’s discredited rulers will win again
Despite astounding revelations of corruption and malpractice, Macedonia’s two ruling parties are likely to win the early elections in December for a combination of reasons. Suggested Reading Conflict...
View ArticleMacedonia’s elections – how the EU continues to fail the Western Balkans
It may seem like nothing has changed in Macedonia after Sunday’s elections, but look closer and you will see the cracks forming inside the country. Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT By...
View ArticleMoving forward in Macedonia
Can Zoran Zaev avoid turning into Zlatko Lagumdzija? Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT By David B. Kanin In my view, instability will become more likely in Macedonia if Nikola Gruevski...
View ArticleThe Balkan treadmill
The last thing the region needs is more “attention” from the European Union. Suggested Reading Collaborate GCCT By David B. Kanin Frederica Mogherini, the EU’s ersatz Foreign Minister, returned from a...
View ArticleIn the Balkans, perhaps it is time for an Ummah
The fraying status quo in the region gives Islamists an opportunity to broaden and deepen their influence. Suggested Reading Collaborate GCCT By David B. Kanin The exchange between Albanian and...
View ArticleTurning the Macedonian tables – what if the solution to the identity issue is...
Perhaps an identity-related distinction rather than a geographical one could resolve the dispute more swiftly and on a permanent basis? Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT By Katerina Kolozova...
View ArticleA review of the bidding in the Balkans
Save one, conflicts in the region are frozen, EU accession process or not. Suggested Reading Collaborate GCCT By David B. Kanin Lacking any strategy or conceptual framework, EU and US diplomacies in...
View ArticleMacedonia – what’s in a name?
The political volatility that characterises the Greek and Macedonian political systems might mean that by the time the national parliaments are asked to ratify the deal, there might not be the...
View ArticleErdogan’s “Trojan Horse” In Macedonia
To be sure, Erdogan’s “peaceful onslaught” on Macedonia has one and one purpose only: to dominate the country under the guise of a long history of brotherly relations. This is Erdogan’s modern “Trojan...
View ArticleLand swaps and other conversations in the Balkans
If the international community does not appreciate ethnic partition in the Balkans as a mode for division of the region, then it should not have championed that very cause when Slovenia, Croatia,...
View ArticleMacedonia name issue – agreement and disagreement
Maximalist positions for the renaming of the neighbouring state without the use of the term ‘Macedonia’ has always been the equivalent of a unicorn eating pie in the sky. In fact, by accepting fYrOM as...
View ArticleSpinning Russia in the Balkans
Bismarck had warned at the close of the Congress of Berlin in 1878 that the next war in Europe would probably result from “some damn foolish thing in the Balkans.” If the EU, the U.S. and Russia do...
View ArticleThe Balkans – the feast feeding Russia’s and Turkey’s hunger
The EU should insist on democratic reforms and adherence to human rights, against which it would accelerate the membership process of Balkan states. This will provide them confidence that their...
View ArticlePlease colonize us.
Balkan Westernizers avoid a post-Imperial world. Suggested Reading Collaborate GCCT By David B. Kanin Not long ago, I took part in a conversation about the long-running soap opera called the...
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