The sounds of silence: Democracy and the referendum on (FYRO)/(North) Macedonia

Liridona Veliu

doi:10.1177/2336825x211010667

Abstract

Prevailing studies on silence and democracy, in spite of silence’s inherently ambiguous nature, focus on subscribing meaning(s) to silence. Such attempts of turning silence into speech, point to an adversary relationship between silence and democratic theory. First, this article conducts an onto-epistemological critique of democratic theory’s treatment of silence (as meaning). Second, it suggests that there are self-reflective analytical benefits for scholars of democratic theory should they broaden up their gaze from silence as meaning toward silence-as-doing. This article argues that this can be done by shifting the epistemological focus from interpreting possible meanings behind the nonvoters’ silence into analyzing the context and/of interpretations of silence as ambiguous. Third, to illustrate this, the article uses the 2018 name referendum in North Macedonia which shows how the speech-centered approach of democratic theory is utilized to serve political goals rather than reaching the democratic ideal of “everyone having a vo-ice/te.”

Highlights

What would democracy do if there was no voice? Vox populi, vox Dei [from Latin: The voice of the people the voice of God] as a fundamental democratic postulate places speech at the heart of democracy and silence as its ontological adversary
The interpretations of the referendum’s results as consent by these actors are well-aligned with the position of the government of North Macedonia coalition led by SDSM, Albanian opposition in the parliament who supported the agreement and some members of VMRO-DPMNE who voted for its ratification
It reaches toward the interpretations of that silence, which is what it epistemologically can be certain of, and allows for silence to irrupt the same, uncovering the inconsistencies within and among those interpretations. This is the analytical power of recognizing ambiguous silence, which we will never get to really know. It is precisely silence as ambiguity i.e. one without meaning, which irrupts and discloses the political game of those who speak on behalf of the citizens of North Macedonia as defenders of democracy

Summary

Introduction

What would democracy do if there was no voice? Vox populi, vox Dei [from Latin: The voice of the people (is) the voice of God] as a fundamental democratic postulate places speech at the heart of democracy and silence as its ontological adversary. This article, creates a bridge between more recent IR epistemological approaches to silence and democratic scholarship; and builds on this synthesis to examine the referendum of September 30, 2018 in North Macedonia1 as a specific case and an example in the third section.

Results

Conclusion