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48 I Southeast Europe bne May 2018
With the exception of Slovenia, all countries in the SEE region are either Semi-Consolidated Democracies (yellow) or Transitional Government or Hybrid Regimes (orange).
Macedonia defies illiberal trend in otherwise gloomy Freedom House report
(SDSM) and its coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), which just survived a no-confidence vote in the parliament on April 11.
There are some concerns about Macedonia’s future. The normalisation of parliamentary work, with full participation of both government and opposition parties, will most likely be a critical issue during 2018, says the report. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, which was in power from 2006 to 2017, has boycotted the parliament for months, only returning to take
part in the no-confidence vote. In addition, interethnic resentments over the proposed law on languages, which will make Albanian a second official language, could also appear during the year, at the expense of already damaged ethnic relations, the report underlined.
On the whole, however, the recent progress in Macedonia is in contrast to several of its near neighbours as well as the wider Central and Southeast Europe region, which saw a speed of illiberal politics that, the report said, “undermines the foundations and prospects for democracy”.
“Illiberal politics are becoming the new normal in Europe,” commented Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, in a statement.
“Government-led smear campaigns against civil society groups, journal- ists, and the political opposition were pioneered in Russia and Central Asia, but they are increasingly common across the region. This is no longer a
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Macedonia was one of the few bright spots on Freedom House’s latest Nations in Transit 2018 report, which assesses democratic governance in 29 post-communist states.
Along with a handful of other Balkan nations, Macedonia showed an improvement in terms of democratic liberties last year. These were the first improvements in Macedonia’s score
on the influential ranking since 2018, ending seven straight years of decline after a new government came to power in May.
“The most promising chance for a democratic breakthrough in Europe today is in Macedonia. Although the country is small, the opportunity is big: Success in Macedonia would mean breaking up a decade of state capture
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and peacefully resolving bilateral disputes that have held back political and economic progress in the region,” Freedom House said.
Macedonia’s democracy score improved to 4.36 points on the index published on April 11, down from 4.43 points in the previous ranking. The index rates
“The most promising chance for a democratic breakthrough in Europe today is in Macedonia”
countries on a scale of one to seven, with one being the best score.
Looking ahead, 2018 is likely to be a test of the reform commitment of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
problem we can claim is limited to one or two countries. To protect democracy, leaders need to confront attacks on democratic principles, especially when those attacks are close to home.”