The Securitization and De-Securitization of the Name Issue Between Greece and No

Abstract

This paper traces the securitization (1991-2016) and de-securitization (2016-2018) of the 27-year-old name issue between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. The securitization period is further divided into sub-periods based on the varying degrees of securitization in Skopje’s discourse due to internal and external developments. Accordingly, between 1991 and 1993, fearing that the state’s survival is in jeopardy, North Macedonian authorities engaged in a lower degree of securitization. After gaining UN membership in 1993, in a relatively safe position, they preferred a higher degree of securitization until the late 1990s. The degree of securitization once again lowered in the early 2000s as the country nearly slid into civil war in 2001 and ruled in its aftermath by weak coalition governments that were unable to deal extensively with foreign relations issues. In this period, North Macedonia also behaved like a good international citizen to reap some benefits in the form of progress in the EU and NATO membership. A higher degree of securitization in the discourse started in 2006, with the election of the right-wing nationalist Nikola Gruevski and lasted until 2016.