ABSTRACT
Ancient Macedonia—established in the seventh century, B.C., on territory between the river Luda, near the city of Plovdiv in present-day Bulgaria—became a major military power under Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great. Frustration over the fact that Bulgaria had occupied the bulk of Macedonia prompted the Second Balkan War in which Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro defeated Bulgaria. The portion of Macedonia under Yugoslav control became one of the six republics in the Yugoslav federation under the name of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Bulgaria has always held the view that Macedonians are “Bulgarian by language” but were never given the chance to decide on their own nationality. The lack of a state tradition and problems surrounding its national identity are directly reflected in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) civil-military relations. The organizational, structural, and constitutional framework of the FYROM’s military gives the impression of a force similar to those in western liberal democracies.
