ДИВЕРГЕНТНИ ПАТИШТА, ЗАЕДНИЧКО НАСЛЕДСТВО: КОМПАРАТИВНА АНАЛИЗА НА КУЛТУРНОТО УПРАВУВАЊЕ ВО СЕВЕРНА МАКЕДОНИЈА И СРБИЈА ПОД ВЛИЈАНИЕ НА ЕВРОПЕИЗАЦИЈАТА
DIVERGENT PATHS, SHARED HERITAGE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL GOVERNANCE IN NORTH MACEDONIA AND SERBIA UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF EUROPEANIZATION

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the complex dynamics of cultural policies in North Macedonia and Serbia, two post-Yugoslav states facing the dual challenge of constructing distinct national cultural identities while navigating the institutional legacies of a shared past and the external pressures of European integration. The primary research question is: How have the legacy of Yugoslav cultural policy and the process of Europeanization shaped the divergent paths of contemporary cultural governance in North Macedonia and Serbia? Through a qualitative comparative analysis of scholarly papers and policy documents, this paper employs a dual theoretical framework of path dependency and Europeanization theory. The findings indicate that while both countries exhibit path-dependent characteristics inherited from their shared Yugoslav past, their cultural policies have developed along starkly different trajectories, determined primarily by their domestic political contexts. North Macedonia's cultural policy has strategically adopted a Europeanized model of multiculturalism as a tool for internal state consolidation and external alignment with the European Union. Conversely, cultural policy development in Serbia is characterized by strategic incoherence and inertia, a direct consequence of its status as a "hybrid regime." In this context, broader political challenges including the erosion of the rule of law, stalled EU accession, and political capture of public institutions constrain the cultural sector, leading to profoundly different outcomes regarding minority rights, the autonomy of cultural institutions, and the development of creative industries.

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