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Macedonian Historiography: The Question of Identity and Politics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 September 2023
Abstract
Historians are playing an important role in Macedonian society. Their understanding of history and their focus of research interest revolves around the national identity of Macedonians and differentiating them from Others. In recent decades, the political debates in the Republic of (North) Macedonia and its relations with Bulgaria and Greece have had important impact on historiographic production and the new (revisionist) interpretations of the past. History has become an essential element in contemporary politics that is key for framing the national identity of the Macedonians. In this new political context historians are even more engaged in political campaigns and debates, thus making them and their historiographical work one of the sources for symbolic division in the country.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
1 The author of this article has been a member of the Multidisciplinary Expert Commission for Historical and Educational Issues between North Macedonia and Bulgaria since its foundation in 2018.
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3 The abbreviation VMRO refers to the historical organisation (Vnatrešna makedonska revolicionerna organizacija) or IMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation).
4 Nikola Gruevski is a Macedonian politician who was president of the VMRO-DPMNE from 2003 to 2017 and prime minister of the Macedonian government from 2006 to 2016. In 2016–17 he was accused of corruption, abuse of power and ordering illegal wiretapping. In 2018 Gruevski escaped to Hungary, where he asked for political asylum.
5 The BDI/DUI was founded in 2002 by Ali Ahmeti, the former political leader of the KLA in the Republic of Macedonia.
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