Slovakia and North Macedonia: A Comparison of Experiences in Resolving Neighbourly Disputes

Authors

  • Juraj Marušiak Institute of Political Science, Slovak Academy of Science, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Keywords:

Slovakia, North Macedonia, Slovak-Hungarian relations, Bulgarian-Macedonian relations, reconciliations, neighbor disputes, nationalism

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to compare the experiences of Slovakia and North Macedonia – countries with similar path of problematic nation-state formation and at the same time to identify to what extent Slovakia’s experience in improving relations with its neighbors can serve as an example of “good practice” for North Macedonia. In the case of Slovakia and North Macedonia, which have been chosen as the subject of comparative research, it is possible to speak of the existence of a number of “unresolved” problems in relations with neighboring states, which they have to face as newly “nationalizing” states. In the case of Slovakia, bilateral relations with Hungary are key, in the case of North Macedonia, relations with Greece and Bulgaria. The following research question is, what role the factor of Europeanization of internal and foreign policy played in this case.

Paper is comparing the historical genesis of the disputes with the neighboring states as well as their nature and way of solution chosen by both countries. What they have in common is the lack of respect on the part of Bulgaria, or Hungary, for the sovereignty of the neighbouring states. As the issue of the status of minorities abroad is one of the highly sensitive topics of internal politics in both states, and similarly the so-called Hungarian card in Slovakia and the Bulgarian card in North Macedonia, the escalation of the above conflicts depends on the dynamics of internal political developments in the respective countries. For these reasons, there is little chance that a change in the positions of the two states could occur in the short term.

Author(s): Juraj Marušiak

Title (English): Slovakia and North Macedonia: A Comparison of Experiences in Resolving Neighbourly Disputes

Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (2023).

Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje

Page Range: 40-59

Page Count: 20

Citation (English): Juraj Marušiak, "Slovakia and North Macedonia: A Comparison of Experiences in Resolving Neighbourly Disputes,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (2023): 40-59.

 

 

Author Biography

Juraj Marušiak, Institute of Political Science, Slovak Academy of Science, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Juraj Marušiak, PhD. (1970), political scientist and historian. Since 1996, he has worked as a senior research fellow at the Institute of Political Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, since 2022 as its director. His research is focused on the history of Slovakia in the 20th century, the political development of Slovakia after WWII, and the comparative politics and international relations in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. His research interests lay in the field of the V4 countries, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. He participated in an international research project focused on the history of the dissident movement in Slovakia. 2002-2003, Juraj Marušiak finished the Lane Kirkland scholarship in Warsaw (Poland) at Warsaw University, specialising in East European Studies. He conducted several short-term research and teaching stays in the Czech Republic, Russian Federation, Poland, Belarus and Bulgaria. He is an author of monographs “Slovenská literatúra a moc v druhej polovici päťdesiatych rokov [Slovak Literature and the Power in the second half of the 50´s] (Brno 2001), (Dez)integračná sila stredoeurópskeho nacionalizmu [The (Dis)integration Power of Central European Nationalism. A Study of the Visegrad Group Countries] (Bratislava 2015, in co-authorship with Mateusz Gniazdowski and Ivan Halász), and Príliš skoré predjarie… Slovenskí študenti v roku 1956 [An Early Spring That Came Prematurely… Slovak Students in 1956] (Bratislava 2020).

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Published

2023-12-11

How to Cite

Marušiak, J. . (2023). Slovakia and North Macedonia: A Comparison of Experiences in Resolving Neighbourly Disputes. Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, 20(1-2), 40-59. Retrieved from https://identitiesjournal.edu.mk/index.php/IJPGC/article/view/528

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1-2 (2023): Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2023 Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture

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