The Macedonian Question

Abstract

Abstract Although the Macedonian Question and British foreign policy in the Balkans during the 1940s have attracted considerable interest, the relation between the two issues has not received much attention. This book explores the British connection of the Macedonian Question from the outbreak of the Second World War to the aftermath of the Tito-Stalin split. Its aim is two-fold: first, to investigate British views of and policy towards the Bulgar-Yugoslav controversy over Macedonia during that period, and to assess the impact of British actions and strategic plans within their historical context. Secondly, to discuss some salient dimensions of the Macedonian Question, including the emergence of the federal Macedonian unit within Tito's Yugoslavia and the functioning of the Macedonian national ideology, by offering a perspective based on British archival sources. It consists of three parts. The first part charts the background to the Macedonian Question, and includes an analysis of British foreign policy on Macedonia from 1878 to the outbreak of the Second World War. The second part focuses on developments during the Second World War, and examines British policy towards Bulgar-Yugoslav relations, their wartime planning concerning the future of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, and their attempt to prevent a Balkan federation of the South Slavs. The third part covers the period from 1945 to 1949, and investigates British reactions to Tito's second attempt to absorb Bulgarian Macedonia and to create a federation.

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