Macedonian Democratization
A history of Macedonian democratization.
Ottoman Rule
Partition
Through the Balkan Wars, Macedonia was split between Serbia and Bulgaria. It suffered from repeated rounds of cultural Bulgarization and Slavization.
Macedonia was occupied, along with parts of Serbia, by Bulgaria during World War 2.
Yugoslavia
Tito led the Yugoslav Partisans to liberate the former kingdom, and following World War 2 established the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Macedonia was administered as a federal republic within Yugoslavia.
After Tito died, the chair of the presidency council began to rotate among members.
Republic of North Macedonia
When Mesić became chair of the presidency council, he ceased to attend meetings. The members from Slovenia and Macedonia similarly abandoned government, leaving just Milošević and his supporters. This effectively ended the executive power of Yugoslavia.
Macedonia held a referendum on independence on September 8, 1991. That date is recognized also as the declaration of independence.
There was a 2001 Albanian insurgency loosely connected to wider regional violence.
Following decades of tensions with Greece, Macedonia agreed to change the official name in 2018 to North Macedonia.
North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020.