Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo: Contested Statehood and the EU

This article analyses the interplay of political discourses about the state, nation, and Europe in North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, focusing on the way in which contested statehood and/or nationhood impact these countries’ policies towards the European Union (EU). It examines texts by leading political figures related to EU integration process’ debates and practices as a way of exposing dominant, shifting, and opposing positions. We argue that the concepts of state and nation are particularly fluid and contested from within and/or outside, which in turn affects how the countries’ elites and populations see themselves in relation to Europe.