The article analyzes the genesis and the development of the intra-state, violent inter-ethnic conflict in Macedonia in 2001. Until 2001, the decade after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Macedonia has been quoted as a positive example of a relatively successful co-existence of the two ethnic groups, Macedonian and Albanian. Furthermore, Macedonia was the only republic of the former Yugoslavia, where violent struggles did not erupt after the independence of the country has been declared. The article also analyses the circumstances that have led to the situation in which the inter-ethnic tensions have developed into an armed struggle between the security forces of the Macedonian state and Albanian rebels. Besides that, the analysis includes conflict-resolution and post-conflict management of the problem in the wake of new international security environment.
|