Twenty-five years after ending conflict, North Macedonia grapples with implementing the Ohrid Agreement, balancing ethnic rights against institutional rule of law.
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Twenty-five years after the Ohrid Framework Agreement ended armed conflict and expanded rights for the Albanian community in North Macedonia, the primary challenge is transforming the system from a conflict prevention mechanism into an inclusive society. Current protests highlight ongoing disputes over language rights, with students demanding the right to take state exams in their native language. While the agreement successfully stopped fighting and established mechanisms like the Badinter principle to safeguard minority rights, its implementation remains contested. Some argue that political establishment elements view expanded Albanian rights as a loss for the Macedonian majority, leading to persistent issues regarding language use and representation. Experts suggest that while ethnic tensions persist, deeper problems—such as corruption, weak institutions, and clientelism—now transcend ethnic lines. Ultimately, achieving true cohesion requires building a civic-territorial nation and establishing a shared perception of the state as a common good, rather than viewing the agreement merely as political capital for electoral gain.
