Conflict prevention and the issue of higher education; the case of the Republic Macedonia

increasingly important role on the agenda of policy makers. As Tony Judt said: “War-making is the exception in modern international affairs. The real challenge is preventing war, making peace and keeping it.” At the same time, minorities have a significant impact on political stability and security in the world. The Minority Rights Group estimates that minorities comprise 30-40% of the world’s population. In addition, at present most of the conflicts have an inter-ethnic character. The classical clashes and tensions between States appear to have been replaced by conflicts generated by tensions between ethnically defined groups and often between a national majority and a national minority. Among various aspects of minority rights the right to education in the mother tongue has led to many disputes. This is mostly due to the fact that education in the language of the minority determines to a large degree the position of a minority language in the state and the degree of participation of persons belonging to minorities in public services. Against this background, the role of education as a source of conflict in inter-ethnic relations, but also as one of tools to prevent them, especially in the long term, deserves special attention. Having in mind the above-mentioned link between conflict prevention and the issue of the right to education in the mother tongue, the Republic of Macedonia could be described as an unique case. When it gained independence in 1991 without violence, many observers saw it as a symbol of hope that the resolution of ethnic tensions could be accommodated through peaceful and democratic processes. For a long time the view prevailed that, in contrast to Kosovo or Bosnia and Herzegovina, no major inter-ethnic tensions would develop in this country despite the fact that minorities represent approximately one third of its population. It seemed to be a guarantee for stability that the biggest minority - the ethnic Albanians - were represented in every cabinet that had been formed since independence, and that Albanians were well represented in the Parliament. In reality, however, there were far more inter-ethnic tensions than was often assumed. There was an alarming shortage of contacts, lack of trust and separation between both communities. Many Macedonians feared that the real goal behind Albanian demands, including the founding of an Albanian language university, was to create parallel structures as a first step, following the Kosovo example, in the direction of separation. Albanians, on their part, often felt that they were treated as second class citizens because they faced problems in using their language in public life, did not have sufficient constitutional guarantees for their position and were heavily under-represented in public services and education, in particular at higher level. They perceived the lack of an Albanian language university as another confirmation of discriminatory treatment, especially since there were only very limited opportunities to study in the Albanian language at the state universities in Skopje and Bitola and, as a consequence, the participation of the Albanian minority in higher education was disproportionately low. This situation has inter alia led to under-representation of Albanians in the public service and in the leading positions in society in general, resulting in increasing frustration of the community. In this respect, higher education played a fundamental role in the position of the Albanian minority as it clearly mirrored shortcomings in the system of minority protection. It was also a symbol around which the Albanian community could be easily politically mobilised by its leaders and this in turn could lead to emotional reactions on the part of ethnic Macedonians. Therefore, it became evident that the solution to this problem would significantly contribute to the strengthening of the country’s stability as it would have a two-fold positive impact. Firstly, it would remove one of the most serious issues dividing the two communities. Secondly, it would have a beneficial influence also on other aspects of inter-ethnic relations between the Macedonian majority and Albanian minority. A well-functioning system of higher education, including that in minority languages, could be one of the best possible instruments of building a tolerant and integrated society.