International conference
Skopje, North Macedonia
Organized by the Center for Advanced Research (Skopje), in partnership with the Academic Network for Cooperation in Southeast Europe, an international conference “Spirit and Shadows of Yugoslavia: Reflections and Processes, 30 Years Since the Disintegration of the SFRY” was held on June 25, 2021 in Skopje.
Thirty years after the bloody disintegration of the common state, questions arise about many phenomena related to the existence and disintegration of the SFRY: is there Yugoslavism, Yugoslav identity, Yugoslav nostalgia, (post) Yugoslav culture and Yugoslav heritage, and so on?
The conference, which was attended by about thirty scientists from the countries of the former Yugoslavia and other European countries, was held under the impression of two events from the first half of the year.
The first is the initiative of Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who sent the EU a so-called non-paper entitled: “Final Disintegration of Yugoslavia”, which means that in some circles further changes to the existing borders on the territory of the former Yugoslavia are still being considered.
Others refer to Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that Northern Macedonia could not start negotiations with the EU, ie that Bulgaria would block the process “as long as Macedonians respect and celebrate the character and work of Josip Broz Tito.”
