Ontological security dynamics in the EU accession process of North Macedonia

Jekić, Aleksandar (author)

Ontological security studies emphasize the importance of routinized relations with others. European Integration is understood as a driver of such routinized relations, making it a source of ontological security and the EU an ontological security provider. Yet, as the case of North Macedonia illustrates, the process of EU accession goes along with bilateral disputes and can trigger concerns about ontological (in)security. To fully understand the dynamics of ontological security -seeking and - provision in the EU, the article investigates its limitations in the context of enlargement. This is done through a qualitative analysis of public statements of Macedonian representatives in the period between the Bulgarian veto in 2020 and the French proposal in 2022. Results indicate that the EU’s role as a provider of ontological security in the Macedonian case highly depends on the perceived credibility of EU membership, as the latter is seen as a means to gain external recognition and thereby ensure the maintenance of a coherent sense of the Self. Perceptions of low membership credibility, however, challenge the ability of maintaining a coherent sense of the Self and turn the EU into a depriver of ontological security.

• Language: English
• Keywords: ontological security, European Union, EU enlargement, North Macedonia, security-seeking
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Geographic coverage: Severna Makedonija
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 159-184
• Numbering: Vol. 19, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-166393
• UDC: 327.56:351.86(061.1EU)
• ISSN on article: 2406-0364
• DOI: 10.5937/jrs19-49142
• COBISS.SI-ID: 221013507
• Publication date in RUL: 10.01.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of Regional Security
• Shortened title: J. Reg. Secur.
• Publisher: Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
• ISSN: 2406-0364
• COBISS.SI-ID: 185035011

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Evropska unija, nacionalna varnost, Severna Makedonija

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0177
• Name: Slovenija in njeni akterji v mednarodnih odnosih in evropskih integracijah