{"id":53586,"date":"2025-12-01T15:33:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/?post_type=activity&#038;p=53586"},"modified":"2025-12-01T15:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:33:55","slug":"proypotheseis-epitychias-i-apotychias-analysi-ton-michanismon-pou-epitrepoun-i-ebodizoun-tis-dimokratikes-diexodous-sti-maziki-kinitopoiisi-tis-voreias-makedonias-to-2015","status":"publish","type":"activity","link":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/activity\/preconditions-for-success-or-failure-analyzing-the-mechanisms-enabling-or-blocking-democratic-openings-in-north-macedonias-2015-mass-mobilization\/","title":{"rendered":"Preconditions for success or failure: analyzing the mechanisms enabling or blocking democratic openings in North Macedonia&#8217;s 2015 mass mobilization"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"the-content\"><p>In the framework of the Horizon research project <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/projects\/embrace-embracing-change-overcoming-blockages-and-advancing-democracy-in-the-european-neighbourhood\/\"><strong>EMBRACE (EMBRACing changE \u2013 Overcoming Blockages and Advancing Democracy in the European Neighbourhood)<\/strong><\/a>, <strong>Dr. Ioannis Armakolas <\/strong>(<em>Head &amp; Senior Research Fellow, South-East Europe Programme \u2013 ELIAMEP) <\/em>and <strong>Dr. Ana Krstinvoska <\/strong>(<em>Research Fellow, South-East Europe Programme \u2013 ELIAMEP)<\/em> co-authored the paper <strong>\u201c<em>Preconditions for success or failure: analyzing the mechanisms enabling or blocking democratic openings in North Macedonia&#8217;s 2015 mass mobilization<\/em>\u201d <\/strong>which was published by <strong>Frontiers<\/strong>, one of the world\u2019s largest and most impactful research publishers.<\/p>\n<p>This article examines the 2015 mass mobilization in North Macedonia, a landmark episode in the country&#8217;s democratic trajectory. Triggered by the release of wiretaps implicating top government officials in corruption and abuse, the protests united diverse societal groups in opposition to the ruling VMRO-DPMNE-led regime. While the movement succeeded in delegitimizing authoritarian rule and forcing political negotiations, it fell short of securing meaningful representation for grassroots actors in the resolution process.<\/p>\n<p>Using Michel Dobry&#8217;s framework of multisectoral mobilization and drawing on interviews, media reports, and academic analyses, the article explores the internal dynamics of the protest coalition. It contrasts the informal, grassroots-driven Protestiram movement with the more institutionalized Citizens for Macedonia (CfM) coalition, supported by opposition parties and foreign donors. Although both shared a demand for democratization, differing priorities and unequal access to resources led to the marginalization of leftist grassroots groups. The article also assesses the European Union&#8217;s role in the crisis. While EU mediation and the Priebe Report were pivotal in resolving the standoff and diagnosing institutional weaknesses, the EU&#8217;s emphasis on elite negotiations and stability over participatory reform reinforced existing asymmetries within civil society and limited the transformative impact of the protests.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the article argues that the 2015 mobilization was a critical moment of democratic resistance, but its potential was undercut by internal fragmentation, political co-optation, and externally mediated solutions that excluded bottom-up actors from meaningful influence.<\/p>\n<p>You can read the article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/political-science\/articles\/10.3389\/fpos.2025.1675685\/full\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":53587,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"program":[23],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/activity\/53586"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/activity"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/activity"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=53586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}