Abstract
Introduction: The name dispute dominated the relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia approximately three decades. It was coined as one of the world’s chronical unresolved issues. During the long lifespan of the conflict, there were some moments of hope for a solution, as well as disappointments stemming from the rising tension between the parties. Some of these developments bringing a new mentality to the dispute can be labelled as the turning points. In the current state of affairs, the dispute has been going through a new phase since the signature of the Prespa Agreement between Greece and North Macedonia in 2018.Materials and Methods: The article is providing a historical analysis of the name dispute. The development of the name dispute, from its beginning till its current state of affairs, is analysed under the guidance of the previous studies conducted on the subject and with references to the discourses of the leading political actors.Results: The name dispute is elaborated by focusing on the key turning points. After the emergence of the conflict, the interim accord of 1995 and 2008 NATO Bucharest meeting and the Prespa Agreement are determined as the turning points of the dispute.Discussions and Conclusions: The article concludes that it is too early to declare the final end of the name dispute by concentrating on the Prespa Agreement, symbolizing the final consensus between the parties of the dispute. Despite the rising hopes after the Prespa Agreement, the historical lifespan of the name dispute leads us to consider the fact that the willingness of the disputing parties to stay committed to the agreement will be definitive in terms of the future of the relations between Greece and Macedonia.
Highlights
The name dispute dominated the relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia approximately three decades
The name dispute is elaborated by focusing on the key turning points
After the emergence of the conflict, the interim accord of 1995 and 2008 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Bucharest meeting and the Prespa Agreement are determined as the turning points of the dispute
Summary
Macedonian Question, turning around the division of the Macedonian territory previously under the Ottoman rule among the newly-independent Balkan states in the early 19th century, turned back to the agenda of the international politics under the new title of the name dispute after the dissolution of Yugoslavia This time the clash was mainly between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia[2]. It refrained from using the internal trouble of Macedonia as an opportunity to get a favourable solution in the name dispute [28. Apart from its populist policies, the government used a discourse of security to play nationalism card This way of acting caused tensions within the country, the problems of the Macedonians having Albanian ethnic origins intensified [26.
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