Abstract
Given the history of inter-ethnic tensions in Macedonia, this chapter is focused on the salience of ethnic, religious, and national identities among the youth. Both young Albanians and Macedonians perceive a clear distinction between Us (Albanians/Muslim or Macedonian/Orthodox) and Them, along both ethnic and religious lines. The youth who have local minority status (Albanians from Skopje and Macedonians from Tetovo) have a greater opportunity to meet local majority group members, especially in formal settings. However, results indicate an evident separation of these groups in everyday life in both cities. In both groups, the strength of ethnic identification is negatively related to the quality of contacts with members of the ethnic outgroup. The findings are discussed through their importance for social identity inclusiveness and complexity.
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Notes
- 1.
For Macedonians, these identities are Macedonian (ethnicity), Orthodox (religion), and Macedonian (nationality), while for the Albanians, they are Albanian (ethnicity), Muslim (religion), and Macedonian (nationality).
- 2.
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a provisional reference to Macedonia, a result of an interim accord between Greece and Macedonia in a dispute over the country’s name. Ethnic Macedonians often use it unofficially as a derogative term (Markowska & Wisiniewski, 2009).
- 3.
“Besa” is a norm in ethnic Albanian communities, usually translated as “faith” or “word of honor,” meaning that the a person is obliged to keep their promises.
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Pajaziti, A., Blaževska-Stoilkovska, B., Fritzhand, A., Rustemi, A., Qose, A. (2017). Towards Inclusive Social Identities in the Republic of Macedonia. In: Pratto, F., Žeželj, I., Maloku, E., Turjačanin, V., Branković, M. (eds) Shaping Social Identities After Violent Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62021-3_7
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