Good Neighbourly Relations: Strategic Actors in North Macedonia and Member State-Driven Conditions

Abstract

North Macedonia has become emblematic of how enlargement can be derailed when member states weaponise identity. Greek and Bulgarian blockades over the country's name and history turned 'good neighbourly relations' from a principle of regional cooperation into an instrument of veto power. In this politicised space, domestic actors such as VMRO-DPMNE mobilise negative partisanship, branding concessions as national betrayal and casting themselves as guardians of identity. Turbulent reform cycles, institutional disruptions and opportunistic deal-making show how contested norms become strategic resources. North Macedonia exposes what happens when EU conditionality loses credibility: polarisation deepens, identity politics harden, and alliances between illiberal actors gain momentum within and beyond the country.

One of the authors, Larisa Vasileska, adopts a position on the country’s name that diverges from the prevailing usage in international relations. This reflects an ongoing debate among Macedonian legal scholars, who contest the legal validity of the Prespa Agreement and, consequently, the legitimacy of the resulting name change. Since the present paper does not engage with this debate, it employs the country’s name as registered with the United Nations.