Institutional and symbolic aspects of illiberal politics: the case of North Macedonia (2006–2017)
Gjuzelov, B; Hadjievska, MI
Date: 23 October 2019
Article
Journal
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies
Publisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge) for ELIAMEP - The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
Publisher DOI
Abstract
The paper discusses the underlying characteristics of Macedonian illiberal politics during the 11-year rule of the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE (2006-2017) focusing on two aspects:institutional and symbolic. We argue that the unfair political competition was enabled by the weakness of pre-existing institutions and the population’s ...
The paper discusses the underlying characteristics of Macedonian illiberal politics during the 11-year rule of the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE (2006-2017) focusing on two aspects:institutional and symbolic. We argue that the unfair political competition was enabled by the weakness of pre-existing institutions and the population’s clientelist preferences, which were systematically exploited and expanded by VMRO-DPMNE. Also, we argue that the multiethnic character of the country, the disputed Macedonian national identity and the lack of viable international prospects allowed VMRO-DPMNE to construct a strong nationalist narrative that appealed to voters and further isolated the opposition.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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