Macedonia and Identity Politics After the Prespa Agreement

Macedonia and Identity Politics After The Prespa Agreement explores issues of national identity, history, and language in light of the 2018 Prespa Agreement.

This book explores issues of national identity, history, and language in light of the 2018 Prespa Agreement. Designed to resolve a protracted and bitter dispute, the agreement signed by the Macedonian and Greek foreign ministers on the banks of the Prespa lake stipulated that the Republic of Macedonia change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia.

The chapters examine the social, political, and economic conditions and events that led to the agreement and the implications and consequences for identity politics in the region. Consideration is given to the ways in which, and the reasons why, identity/identities, difference/differences, modes of belonging, and experiences of injustice and discrimination have been mobilized. By focusing on the Prespa Agreement, the collection also offers valuable insight into the processes involved in (re)making boundaries, (re)defining ethnic and national identities, (re)inventing citizenship, and (re)writing national histories.

Bringing together expert contributors with intimate knowledge of, and long-term engagement with, the region, this volume will be of interest to scholars and students of anthropology, Slavic and East European studies, history, and international relations.

Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Autorentext

Vasiliki P. Neofotistos is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, USA.

Klappentext

Macedonia and Identity Politics After The Prespa Agreement explores issues of national identity, history, and language in light of the 2018 Prespa Agreement.

Inhalt

Introduction: Macedonia: What's in a name?

Vasiliki P. Neofotistos

1. "Three countries, two lakes, one future:" The Prespa Lakes and the signing of the Prespa Agreement ** Loring M. Danforth

2. The hollow signifier "Prespa": Some reflections on the lake, the Agreement, and the state ** Rozita Dimova

3. A glass half full or a poisoned chalice? The Prespa Agreement and the modern Macedonian language ** Victor A. Friedman

4. When the ethnographic field gets unfriendly: Identity politics and censorship in the Greek region of Macedonia in light of the Prespa Agreement ** Marica Rombou-Levidi

5. Voters and clients: Elections in Florina before and after the Prespa Accord ** Anastasia Karakasidou

6. The agreement that brought the nation to completion and extinction: Macedonian political parties and the framing of the Prespa Agreement ** Aleksandar Takovski

7. Seeing double: Political polarization and identity politics in Macedonia, before and after the Prespa Agreement ** Andrew Graan

8. Innovation after Prespa ** Fabio Mattioli

9. Fantasies of citizenship: Post-territorial nationalism and Macedonian emigrants in Turkey Burcu Akan Ellis