Editorial: Kosovo and Macedonia
All of us here knew quite well that the great majority of the Macedonians considered the 2001 Ohrid Agreement an unjust act, the product of violence on the side of the ethnic Albanians supported by the “international community” against the Macedonian national state and against the interests of the Macedonian nation.
What kind of a political system did Macedonia get after the Ohrid Peace Agreement?
The Ohrid Peace Agreement signed after the armed ethnic conflict in Macedonia in 2001 has largely changed the constitutional framework of the previous political system of the country. The so-called Westminster democratic political framework established with the 1991 Constitution, which favoured the majority-ethnic Macedonians, has been abandoned.
Rumen KAMILOV
Macedonia, Skopje
INTRODUCTION

Special issue of NEW BALKAN POLITICS

“The crises of the social-democracy in Macedonia”

 

            This special issue of New Balkan Politics is dedicated to the social democracy in Macedonia. After three defeats in a row of the Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) at the parliamentary elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, as well as after the catastrophic results at the local elections in 2013, the inevitable question that arises is: Why? Do the social democratic ideas about social justice, equality, solidarity and belief in democratic principles lose their attraction in a country in which every third person is unemployed and poor, and the division along social lines is becoming more dramatic? Or should we search for the reasons for the defeat in the Social Democratic Alliance, its historical legacy, its practical policies, organization and leadership?

            In this special issue of New Balkan Politics I have invited prominent members of the Social Democratic Alliance in Macedonia, independent intellectuals and experts to respond to the question asked. These are: Dane Taleski, Aleksandar Spasov, Martin Pechijareski, Lidija Hristova, Aneta Cekik and Dimitar Stojanovski. As editor of this issue, I also participate with my article. I hope that this is just the beginning of a good broader academic debate about the political parties and their role in society.

 

Prof. Mirjana Maleska

Editor-in-Chief

INTRODUCTION

Dear Readers,

The journal New Balkan Politics, after a few years of pause, is in front of you again. The reason for our absence has been financial. The magazine is independent and non-profit, with free access to the site, meaning that we apply for donations. Any donation is welcome and will be used in order to promote political thought and analytical way of thinking among scholars, students, journalists and the public in general.

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Mirjana Maleska