Rearranging solidarity: conspiracy and world order in Greek and Macedonian commentaries on Kosovo

Article abstract:

In this paper the authors set out to examine the presence of the Kosovo war in everyday commentary and conversation among the residents of two cities, one Greek and one Macedonian, in 1999. The aim is first ethnographic: to document how people in the region interpreted a war that Western media, following the line preached by US President Clinton and UK Prime Minister Blair, presented at the time as humanitarian, just and therefore necessary. The narratives collected were unanimous in viewing NATO's action negatively, and drew on an apparently shared stock of idioms. The authors consider this apparent 'meeting of minds' between Greeks and Macedonians as an interpretive challenge. It is remarkable not only because Greece is and Macedonia aspires to be a member of NATO and the European Union, but also in the light of the previously high-profile and allegedly deep-rooted dispute between the two countries. The explanation offered in this paper is that the common anti-Western rhetoric and remarkable parallels in explanations of the war demonstrate how deeply cultural factors shape perceptions of political realities.