Bliznakovski, Jovan

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Bliznakovski, Jovan
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Bliznakovski, Jovan

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    2021 Local Elections in North Macedonia: A Prelude to Alternation of Power?
    (University of Graz, 2022)
    Prior to the 2021 elections, North Macedonia had an entrenched tradition of local-level voting for the central-level incumbent. The party leading the central government has always won most mayoral positions at the local elections since they were first held in 1996, making the lower-level contest a simple showcase of the support for the ruling parties. The October 2021 elections were quite different: the opposition right-wing Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Vnatreshna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija – Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo, VMRO-DPMNE) claimed a dominant win, resulting in a resignation of the ruling center-left Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (Socijaldemokratski sojuz na Makedonija, SDSM) Prime Minister (PM) Zaev and the appointment of a new government with changed personnel from the side of SDSM. This outcome is due to the general public’s disappointment with the performance of the SDSM-led government, especially regarding persistent corruption, the inability to reinstate rule of law following the disclosed abuses from the Wiretapping Affair (2015), and the lack of further progress regarding EU-membership despite heavy national concessions such as the name change (2019). The election results can also be read as a symptom of the population’s major disillusionment with the prospect of opening EU accession negotiations soon. Following these developments, a change of power can be expected, with VMRO-DPMNE eyeing to reclaim the central government (after their 2017 exit) at the next parliamentary elections which could take place as late as 2024.
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    External Political Efficacy and Populist Attitudes: Understanding the Demand for Populism in North Macedonia
    (Sociological Scientific Society of Serbia, 2023)
    ;
    Popovikj, Misha
    ;
    Recica, Vlora
    This paper focuses on the underlying factors driving the demand for populism in North Macedonia. It presents an argument on populist attitudes, illustrating empirically that within this specific context, they are primarily driven by heightened dissatisfaction with state institutions. This dissatisfaction is manifested as perceived lack of external political efficacy, with state mechanisms failing to foster citizen inclusion in political processes. Additionally, this paper demonstrates that populism in this country of South East Europe is also significantly influenced by adherence to traditional values and beliefs in conspiracy theories. These findings are discussed in relation to the dominant theories on populist demand found in current literature. The objectives of this paper are twofold. Firstly, it seeks to examine the applicability of current theories to the case of North Macedonia. Secondly, it proposes a perspective on the factors stimulating populism within this context. To assess the effects of different factors on populist demand, we employ OLS regression modeling using survey data collected in June 2021. This study contributes to the existing literature on the demand side of populism, presenting findings from a region not frequently examined in this regard-Southeast Europe, specifically North Macedonia.