Between the Integration and Accommodation of Ethnic Difference: Decentralization in the Republic of Macedonia
Publisher: Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe Volume: 24 pages, pdf Description: The decentralization process in the Republic of Macedonia has been widely regarded as a success story by regional and international actors alike. It is frequently considered a suitable non-territorial model of ethnic conflict management that can be replicated elsewhere. By increasing the number of competences administered at the municipal level, in addition to replicating the central government’s system of consociational power-sharing locally, the reforms seek to provide local, culturally diverse communities with greater control over the management of their own affairs and resources. This paper will begin with a theoretical discussion of how municipal decentralization may offer an institutional solution for managing and preserving cultural diversity within unitary states.