Resolving the Historical and Cultural Heritage Conf lict Between Macedonia and Bulgaria in Terms of the Relationship Between Power And History

Abstract

This study discusses the relationship between power and history along the axis of the ongoing fight between Macedonia and Bulgaria regarding the shared historical heritage. Since 1944 when Macedonia became an independent republic within the Yugoslav Federation, this struggle over the historical and cultural heritage of the region has been based on many historical events and historical figures in these regions. and other public actors. Both countries have emphasized and appropriated the national character of the historical and cultural heritage of the region into their historiographies. These two countries’ attitudes have made discussions on sharing history and culture political and ideological. Because the source of these disagreements is political, the attempt has been made to resolve things through political means. Based on this perspective, the study will reveal the relationship between history and power by discussing these disagreements regarding historical and cultural heritage between the two countries. In other words, the study will examine how history and historiography have been politicized and how this politicization and ideologization have become sources of political problems between the two countries by discussing the disagreements and disputes between the two countries with regard to their shared historical heritage. This study’s main claim involves the main motif of these countries’ dispute to be the ideology of nationalism and how it essentially reflects the conflict between their two nationalist ideologies.