The state of Democracy in the Republic of Macedonia – Freefall or a Temporary Crisis?

Abstract

The state of democracy in the Republic of Macedonia in the last five years indicates a serious crisis of democracy which is hard to qualify. Located anywhere between a “free fall” and a “temporary crisis” the state of democracy in Macedonia is undergoing a challenging period on many accounts. On one hand, a simple analysis of civil society indicates that the political basis of the country has rarely been more conflictual, not just along ethnic, but also along ideological lines, especially in the Macedonian ethnic block. Even more so, the political party scene also undergoes its possibly worst period, culminating in the December 24th 2012 events in the Macedonian Parliament, a display of political violence that has completely derogated procedural and parliamentary democracy in Macedonia, and has put the country in the biggest crisis ever since the conflict in 2001. If one adds up the completely blocked EU perspectives of the country, mostly due to the unresolved name dispute with neighboring Greece, that it becomes clear that the Republic of Macedonia is a very unfavorable position, or as benchmarks of many international organizations show in a serious democratic descend.