Although we live in the 21st century, in the era of human rights and freedoms, the Macedonian question remains the subject of intense political discussions, especially within the European Union. Namely, the uniqueness of the Macedonian language and the political legitimacy of the Macedonian nation are often disputed and denied by certain political elites of some EU member states, as well as by parts of their academic communities.
The denial of the uniqueness of the Macedonian language and the questioning of the political legitimacy of the Macedonian nation could be categorized as a form of political hate speech for the following reasons:
- Disrespect for the right to self-determination;
- Cultural marginalization;
- Violation of human rights and freedoms;
- Demands for historical revisionism;
- Incitement of hostility and prejudice;
- Creation of political trauma at the individual and community level;
- Undermining trust in EU institutions.
The scientific research project "Denial of the Uniqueness of the Macedonian Language and the Political Legitimacy of the Macedonian Nation as a Form of Political Hate Speech" aims to reaffirm the uniqueness of the Macedonian language and the political legitimacy of the Macedonian nation. At the same time, through this research, it should be established that the denial of the uniqueness of the Macedonian language and the questioning of the political legitimacy of the Macedonian nation constitutes a form of political hate speech. The research strives to provide a relevant perspective on current conditions and to encourage further analyses and insights on this topic to provide more information from the scientific world. Also, this research examines the problem from multiple aspects: political science, sociology, psychology, communication, law, and linguistics, meaning its approach is comprehensive regarding the phenomenon under investigation.
The project "Denial of the Uniqueness of the Macedonian Language and the Political Legitimacy of the Macedonian Nation as a Form of Political Hate Speech" is being implemented by a research team from the Institute for Sociological, Political, and Juridical Research (ISPJR) in collaboration with the Research Center for Areal Linguistics "Božidar Vidoeski" (RCAL) at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU), during the period from 2023 to 2025. For this purpose, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between ISPJR and RCAL.
Members of the research team from ISPJR:
- Prof. Dr. Ganka Cvetanova (head of the scientific research project)
- Prof. Dr. Eleonora Serafimovska
- Prof. Dr. Marijana Marković
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Milka Dimitrovska
- Assist. MSc. Tea Koneska-Vasilevska (secretary of the scientific research project)