Proces kształtowania się narodu macedońskiego wobec skomplikowanej sytuacji geopolitycznej

The Process of Stabilization of the Macedonian Nation in a Complex Geopolitical SituationThe article considers two main stages of the development of national identity of the Macedonians which were the basis for their own independent state. The first stage, which took place at the turn of the twentieth century, was connected with activities of Macedonian intellectuals and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. However, in the second stage – which occurred in the second half of the twentieth century (when Macedonia was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) – the authorities of the Yugoslavian federation paradoxically played an important role as they maintained a sense of national autonomy among the people of Macedonia. Following the Macedonian declaration of independence in November 1991, the mood of instability developed in the state. This mood resulted mainly from the claims of the neighbouring countries and the demands of the Albanian minority. The complex geopolitical situation of independent Macedonia had a stimulating influence on the consolidation of national identity of the Macedonians and contributed to increasing the importance of national factions in the state.