Abstract
In a recent article, Sašo Ordanoski, an internationally appreciated analyst and media expert based in Skopje, pointed out with concern that polls in December 2010 had for the first time in years recorded a negative attitude among the Macedonian public toward European integration. In particular, he stressed that a dramatic polarization was emerging between the expectations of the two main ethnic groups of the country, with the level of disappointment among Macedonians1 reaching 72% in contrast to a level of support at 74% among Albanians. In his view, the interpretation of this fact was frightening if juxtaposed with the widespread pessimism of Macedonians, roughly 50% of whom believed that their country would be the last to join the EU, with 51% expressing a negative assessment of the government’s policy in pursuing European integration.2
Yes for EU, but as Macedonia and Macedonians!
(a banner on a house of downtown Skopje, 17 May 2011)
The research conducted in Macedonia for this chapter was made possible thanks to the support of the Italian national research program PRIN, under a broader project n.2008YBTP37, on self-determination and sovereignty.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Sašo Ordanoski, “The Story of Macedonian Populism: ‘All We Want Is Everything!,”’ in Jacques Rupnik (ed.), The Western Balkans and the EU: The Hour of Europe (Paris: Chaillot Papers, June 2011), p. 108.
See Stefano Bianchini, Joseph Marko, Craig Nation, and Milica Uvalic (eds), Cooperation, Peace Enforcement, and the Role of the Treaties in the Balkans (Ravenna: Longo, 2007).
Sašo Klekovski, Me(*****tra)uetničkite odnosi vo Makedonija (Skopje: Makedonski Centra za megunarodna sorabotka, 2011), pp. 5–7 and 22–3. The study is derived from a research survey based on a sample that involved 2,087 people, aged 18 or over, 58.6% male and 41.4% female, structured by generation, ethnic group, religious belief, profession, social status, education, party’s orientation, regional distribution, with 30% of respondents living in the countryside, 21.7% in towns, 25.5% in cities, and 22.8% in Skopje. See Ibid. p. 48.
An extensive portrayal of media (TV and radio) in Macedonia is offered by Vesna Šopar, “Makedonija,” in Sandra Bašič-Hrvatin, Mark Thompson, and Tarik Jusié (eds), Razjedinjeni propadaju: javni radio-televizijski servisi u multietniŽkim državarna (Sarajevo: Mediacentar, 2008), pp. 119–45.
Jana Korunovska Srbijanko, Neda Korunovska Avramovska, and Tanja Maleska, Kapitulacija, konfuzija ili otpor: socijalnot kapital na Makedonskite srednoškolci (Skopje: Mladinski Obrazoven Forum, 2011), p. 54.
Suffice here for a reminder of the difficulties of a number of EU member states in the fight against xenophobia, racism, and homophobia, or just in reconsidering gender equalities not only in law but also in the everyday implementation of rights. See, for instance, Michela Marzano, Sii bella e stai zitta. Perché IItalia di oggi offende le donne (Milano: Mondadori, 2010);
Silke Roth (ed.), Gender Politics in the Expanding European Union. Mobilization, Inclusion, Exclusion (New York: Berghahn Books, 2008);
V. Lee Badgett and Jefferson Frank (eds), Sexual Orientation Discrimination. An International Perspective (Abingdon: Routledge, 2007);
Andre Gingrich and Markus Banks (eds), Neonationalism in Europe and Beyond (New York: Berghahn Books, 2006).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Stefano Bianchini
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bianchini, S. (2013). Macedonia and the EU: Reshaping Social Values in Fluid Times. In: Ramet, S.P., Listhaug, O., Simkus, A. (eds) Civic and Uncivic Values in Macedonia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137302823_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137302823_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-44144-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-30282-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)