The geopolitical changes in Europe and the Balkans and their impact on the Republic of (North) Macedonia since the beginning of the 21st century

• Published in: Historijski pogledi
• Main Author: Mariyana Stamova
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Bosnian; English; Croatian; Serbian
• Published: Center for Research of Modern and Contemporary History Tuzla 2024
• Subjects: europe; balkans; republic of (north) macedonia; albania; bulgaria; greece; serbia; 21st century; Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform; HN1-995; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.52259/historijskipogledi.2024.7.12.435; https://doaj.org/article/e12bd67976f6453ab10f8c671fd3bf2c

The last decade of the 20th century is associated predominantly with the international consolidation of the Republic of Macedonia, whereas during the first decade of the 21st century the country faced grave international problems and confrontations between the Macedonian and the Albanian communities, as well as the dilemma of its further steps towards membership in the European and North Atlantic structures. On the verge of the new century, the state clashed with numerous domestic political problems and escalation of the inter-ethnic conflicts. The danger of the escalation and spreading of the ethnic conflict and its transformation into civil war was successfully averted with the help of the international community. From a foreign policy perspective, during the first decade of the 21st century the country had candidate status for EU membership and the doors of NATO were open for it. However, the main problem before its successful integration consisted in finding a solution to the issue of the country’s name in its dispute with Greece. In spite of the serious efforts of the Republic of Macedonia, the EU did not set a date for the start of the accession negotiations in the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. On its part, NATO was ready for rapid accession of the Balkan state, but only after the dispute on its name had been resolved. That position was clearly outlined at the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 2008, when Albania and Croatia received invitations to join the Alliance, but Macedonia did not. The country thus remained with totally blocked dialogue with NATO and the EU on account of the demands of Greece concerning its name and the implementation of the good-neighbourhood policy. That in turn created a security threat and resulted in escalation of the inter-ethnic tension. The country’s growing destabilisation was strongly influenced by the deepening crisis in the domestic policy sphere in the autumn of 2012, provoked by the so-called “budget crisis.” It was connected with difficulties for ...