{"id":2742,"date":"2021-11-23T03:37:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T03:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/?p=2742"},"modified":"2021-12-29T03:37:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T03:37:51","slug":"on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Bulgarian Claims on the Macedonian Ethnic Identity and Language"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Dr. Ognen Vangelov<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Professor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UACS, Skopje, N. Macedonia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This text is a brief overview of Bulgaria\u2019s claims on the Macedonian ethno-linguistic identity (i.e., the origin of the Macedonian people and language). The conflict over the ethno-linguistic identity of the Macedonian people living in the wider Macedonia region (in today\u2019s North Macedonia, and parts of Bulgaria and Greece) has been brought to the fore – both in the EU and more generally in international affairs – by Bulgaria\u2019s recent double veto for the beginning of North Macedonia\u2019s accession talks with the EU.[i]<\/sup><\/a> Although this episode appears to have come out of the blue, in reality, the conflict over the origin of the Macedonian people and language is a protracted one, tainting the relations among states and peoples in the southern Balkans for the better part of the 20th<\/sup> century and into the 21st<\/sup> century.          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the bilateral issue became internationalized<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue rose to prominence outside of the bilateral Macedonian-Bulgarian scope when it became evident that the EU would recommend a start of accession talks for North Macedonia\u2019s EU membership in 2019-2020. The two countries had previously signed a bilateral Friendship Treaty in August 2017, according to which both countries were to set up an interdisciplinary committee on historical and educational issues \u201cto contribute to the objective, based on authentic and evidence-based historical sources, scientific interpretation of the historical events.\u201d[ii]<\/sup><\/a> The Committee, consisting of seven experts from each side, was set up soon after the signing of the Treaty, and has been meeting from four to six times a year thereafter. However, in the past three years it has been unable to find a common ground on the historical interpretations of events and personalities from the histories of the two nations. Bulgaria has used the stalemate in the Committee as grounds for its subsequent use of the veto in the European Council for Macedonia\u2019s start of EU accession negotiations. In other words, Bulgaria has rationalized its veto use on the grounds of North Macedonia\u2019s alleged non-compliance to the Friendship Treaty due to lack of results by the interdisciplinary committee.[iii]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it appears that Bulgaria\u2019s official stance toward North Macedonia has radicalized since 2018, after North Macedonia and Greece signed the Prespa Agreement under the auspices of the United Nations, which resolved the three decades-long dispute that had been instigated by Greece in 1991. The Agreement acknowledged the existence of the Macedonian language and the right of North Macedonia\u2019s people to call themselves Macedonians, including their cultural, historical, and linguistic distinctiveness.[iv]<\/sup><\/a> This development seems to have irked Sofia as it did not bode well with its own claims that the Macedonian people and language were really a derivative of the Bulgarian ethnic stock. In October 2019, Bulgaria almost unanimously passed a parliamentary declaration about its stance on the issue of EU enlargement and the Macedonian identity. Among other things in the declaration, Bulgaria asserted that it categorically opposes the \u201ceventual European legitimation of a past ideology with an anti-Bulgarian character,\u201d and the \u201crewriting and appropriation of history of the part of the Bulgarian people after 1944, which is the pillar of the anti-Bulgarian ideological construction of Yugoslav totalitarianism.\u201d[v]<\/sup><\/a> The declaration also demands that North Macedonia renounce any idea of a Macedonian ethnic minority on the territory of Bulgaria.[vi]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the declaration does not explain what it means by \u201canti-Bulgarian ideological construction,\u201d the explanation was contained in the so-called \u201cFramework Position for EU Enlargement and the Process of Association and Stabilization: Republic of North Macedonia and Albania\u201d issued by Bulgaria\u2019s government the day before the adoption of the parliamentary declaration. This framework position contains a long list of demands for North Macedonia to fulfil if it wants to get Bulgaria\u2019s approval for EU negotiations. Among the many stipulations, it demands that North Macedonia remove any plaque commemorating events from the Second World War containing the phrase \u201cBulgarian fascist occupier,\u201d; that the EU documents use the phrase \u201cofficial language of the Republic of North Macedonia\u201d (instead of Macedonian language), and if the term \u201cMacedonian language\u201d is by any chance used, it should be clarified that \u201cthe linguistic norm in the Republic of North Macedonia is tied to the evolution of the Bulgarian language and its dialects in the former Yugoslav republic after their codification in 1944.\u201d Moreover, the so-called \u201cexplanatory memorandum\u201d that Sofia sent to all other EU member-states, states that \u201cfollowing Second World War the overwhelming majority of [todays North Macedonia\u2019s] Slavic population used to clearly self-identify as Bulgarian,\u201d and that \u201cBelgrade tried to eradicate the Bulgarian identity of this population.\u201d[vii]<\/sup><\/a> It then continues to assert that \u201ca Macedonian language or ethnicity did not exist until 02.08.1944.\u201d [viii]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Rationales for Bulgaria\u2019s Position?<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulgaria\u2019s mainstream political and academic elites often claim that the population itself in today\u2019s North Macedonia had been self-identifying as Bulgarian in the 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> centuries, up to the Second World War when the new identity took hold based on communist repression and intimidation. In fact, it is very problematic, to say the least, to speak of a clear Bulgarian ethno-national identity and self-identification in the 19th<\/sup> century in either today\u2019s Bulgaria itself or in Macedonia. The term \u201cBulgarian\u201d had been used historically (and it must be emphasized that this term has not been used exclusively, but occasionally) to denote varied Slavic speaking populations during the Ottoman period. But, when it comes to self-identification of these populations, there is little – if any – evidence to claim that these populations had commonly expressed an ethnic Bulgarian identity. The process of nation-building in Bulgaria only really occurred after the creation of the Bulgarian principality in 1878 and of its state institutions, including the spread of universal education, military conscription and other state-building practices. Shortly before the creation of the Principality, the Bulgarian Exarchate was created, which also provided means for a creation of Bulgarian consciousness. As the Belgian historian Raymond Detrez (2020) explains, acquisition of national consciousness is not a mass phenomenon, but an individual psychological development as it results from socialization, imposed by various educational, administrative, and repressive means. Thus, he asserts that \u201cin the 19th<\/sup> century Ottoman Empire\u2026 such nationalizing measures were\u2026 lacking; in addition, a multitude of national ideologies and various other (regional, vocational, social and cultural) loyalties competed.\u201d[ix]<\/sup><\/a> Contrary to the claims of the official Bulgarian narrative that a Macedonian identity only emerged after the Second World War, Detrez claims that in the second half of the 19th<\/sup> century there had been \u201cthe first convincing indications of the emergence of a Macedonian national ideology, which Bulgarian historiography as a rule passes in silence.\u201d[x]<\/sup><\/a>  This is echoed by other historians outside Bulgaria. For instance, Katrin Bozeva-Abazi writes that people in Bulgaria came to identify with a Bulgarian nation as it was a process stimulated and completed by the Bulgarian state. It was the state that \u201caccelerated the emergence of common national identity, not vice versa\u2026\u201d and it was the \u201c\u2026 Bulgarian political elites of the late nineteenth century that \u2018reconstructed\u2019 the period of national awakening.\u201d[xi]<\/sup><\/a> Moreover, even after the creation of the Bulgarian state in 1878, Abazi contends, \u201cnational loyalty continued to be a vague, even a weird notion to the majority of\u2026 Bulgarian peasants.\u201d[xii]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In summary, the recent internationalization of the Bulgarian claims on Macedonian ethno-linguistic identity (through its abuse of its right to veto North Macedonia\u2019s start of EU accession talks) are based on long-standing Bulgarian policies designed to deny the existence of a separate Macedonian ethnic identity and language. These policies have been consistent at least since the 1960s[xiii]<\/sup><\/a> and have been embedded in Bulgaria\u2019s positions when dealing with the \u201cMacedonian question.\u201d The motives behind these policies are complex. On the one hand, they lay in the mythologized vision of a millennium-old Bulgarian ethnic identity that has been forcibly and violently separated through the intervention of communists and the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz-Tito personally. On the other hand, these claims have been a component of the Bulgarian nation-building processes since late 19th<\/sup> century and have continued both through conscious efforts and historiographic legacies and inertia. The underlying objective of this denial today, it appears, is to \u201cre-engineer\u201d the Macedonian ethnic identification into its \u201ctrue Bulgarian self\u201d through the process of North Macedonia\u2019s EU accession and through imposing educational curricula in North Macedonia based on this Bulgarian mythologized vision of the millennium-old Bulgarian ethnic history. Such historical interpretation is not only implausible but also unsustainable both from a political and a historical perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ognen<\/strong> graduated at the Faculty of Philology at the University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje and earned an MA at the Denver University as a Ron Brown Fellow of the US Government Ognen earned his Ph.D. at the Queens University in Canada as a Fellow of the Canadian Government under the Ontario Trillium Scholarship and the Canada Vanier Graduate Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[i]<\/sup><\/a> Gotev, Georgi and \u017deljko Trkanjec, \u201cBulgaria Maintains its North Macedonia veto,\u201d Euractiv<\/em>, 23 June 2021, accessed at https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/politics\/short_news\/bulgaria-maintains-its-north-macedonia-veto\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ii]<\/sup><\/a> United Nations, \u201cTreaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation between the Republic of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia,\u201d Skopje, 1 August 2017, Article 8, p. 16, accessed at https:\/\/treaties.un.org\/doc\/Publication\/UNTS\/No%20Volume\/55013\/Part\/I-55013-08000002804f5d3c.pdf https:\/\/treaties.un.org\/doc\/Publication\/UNTS\/No%20Volume\/55013\/Part\/I-55013-08000002804f5d3c.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[iii]<\/sup><\/a> Radio Free Europe, \u201cBulgaria Blocks Start of North Macedonia’s EU Accession Talks,\u201d 17 November 2020, accessed at https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/bulgaria-blocks-start-of-north-macedonia-s-eu-accession-talks\/30955279.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[iv]<\/sup><\/a> This is stipulated under Articles 1 and 7 of the Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[v]<\/sup><\/a> National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, \u201c\u0414\u0435\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u0427\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0435\u0441\u0435\u0442 \u0438 \u0447\u0435\u0442\u0432\u044a\u0440\u0442\u043e\u0442\u043e \u041d\u0430\u0440\u043e\u0434\u043d\u043e \u0441\u044a\u0431\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u043d\u0430 \u0420\u0435\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0411\u044a\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0438\u044f \u0432\u044a\u0432 \u0432\u0440\u044a\u0437\u043a\u0430 \u0441 \u0440\u0430\u0437\u0448\u0438\u0440\u044f\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0435\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0430 \u0415\u0432\u0440\u043e\u043f\u0435\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0438\u044f \u0441\u044a\u044e\u0437 \u0438 \u041f\u0440\u043e\u0446\u0435\u0441\u0430 \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0438\u043b\u0438\u0437\u0438\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0435 \u0438 \u0430\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438\u0438\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0435 \u043d\u0430 \u0420\u0435\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0421\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0430 \u041c\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0438\u044f \u0438 \u0420\u0435\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0410\u043b\u0431\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u201d, 10 October 2019, [Declaration of the Forty Fourth National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria Regarding EU Enlargement and the Process of Stabilization and Association of the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania] accessed at https:\/\/parliament.bg\/en\/declaration\/ID\/157188<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[vi]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[vii]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[viii]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ix]<\/sup><\/a> Detrez, Raymond, \u201cAbout Two Scholarly Investigations and a Bulgarian Author,\u201d Dzialo-e spisanie v oblastta na humanitaristikata<\/em> No. 16 2020, accessed at http:\/\/www.abcdar.com\/magazine\/XVI\/44_Raymond%20Detrez.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[x]<\/sup><\/a> Bozeva-Abazi, Katrin, \u201cThe shaping of Bulgarian and Serbian national identities, 1800s-1900s,\u201d thesis, McGill University<\/em> 2003, p. 48 accessed at: https:\/\/escholarship.mcgill.ca\/concern\/theses\/qn59q634g<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xi]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid., p. 80<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xii]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid., p. 123<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xiii]<\/sup><\/a> Marinov, Tchavdar, \u041c\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0430\u0448\u0430\u045a\u0435 \u043e\u0434 1944 \u0434\u043e \u0434\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0441: \u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443\u043d\u0438\u0437\u043c\u043e\u0442 \u0438 \u043d\u0430\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0437\u043c\u043e\u0442 \u043d\u0430 \u0411\u0430\u043b\u043a\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0442<\/em> [The Macedonian Question from 1944 to Today: Communism and Nationalism in the Balkans], Foundation Soros Open Society-Skopje 2020, pp. 44-60.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Ognen Vangelov Assistant Professor UACS, Skopje, N. Macedonia This text is a brief overview of Bulgaria\u2019s claims on the Macedonian ethno-linguistic identity (i.e., the origin of the Macedonian people and language). 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Macedonia This text is a brief overview of Bulgaria\u2019s claims on the Macedonian ethno-linguistic identity (i.e., the origin of the Macedonian people and language). The conflict over the ethno-linguistic identity of the Macedonian people living in the wider Macedonia region (in today\u2019s North Macedonia, and parts of Bulgaria and Greece) has been […]","og_url":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/","og_site_name":"DWP-BALKAN","article_published_time":"2021-11-23T03:37:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-29T03:37:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":347,"url":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/slika-23112021.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"DWPBALKAN","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DWPBALKAN","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/"},"author":{"name":"DWPBALKAN","@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/94e01f70a9f8ac0de7af6559b5fc802d"},"headline":"On the Bulgarian Claims on the Macedonian Ethnic Identity and Language","datePublished":"2021-11-23T03:37:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-29T03:37:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/"},"wordCount":1867,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/slika-23112021.jpg","articleSection":["Balkan.Perspectives #18"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/","url":"https:\/\/dwp-balkan.org\/staging\/on-the-bulgarian-claims-on-the-macedonian-ethnic-identity-and-language\/","name":"On the Bulgarian Claims on the Macedonian Ethnic Identity and Language - 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