'The Work of Sovereignty: What I Learned inside the Republic of Macedonia's Quest for Independence' By AMB Jon Ivanovski — 2024 Mary Choncoff Endowed Lecture

* Note that the location of AMB Ivanovski's talk has been changed to College of Design North (CDN) building, Room 60. * 

After the conclusion of the Cold War, three federal states in Eastern Europe dissolved simultaneously, with the USSR and Czechoslovakia facing marginal issues, while the SFR Yugoslavia experienced a bloody civil war.

The Republic of Macedonia, located at the southern end of former Yugoslavia, attempted, relatively successfully, to stay out of the conflict with significant support from the international community. The policy of good neighborliness and a willingness to compromise, for a small European landlocked state with four (five) slightly larger neighbors, proved to be the only viable option.

However, political forces in the country did not demonstrate sufficient state responsibility, using external political issues for internal gains in the power struggle. As a result, today, despite being a leader in the region during the 1990s in the process of EU accession, the Republic of Macedonia remains heavily dependent on external factors regarding critical infrastructure and internal stability. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, believed to be a motivator for the EU to take decisive steps toward integrating small Western Balkan states, revealed that a war on European soil only exacerbates internal weaknesses and divisions.

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Ambassador Jon Ivanovski, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of North Macedonia to the United Nations gives the annual 2024 Mary Choncoff Endowed Lecture in Balkan Studies. 

The Choncoff Lecture is named for the late Macedonian-American librarian and bookseller, Mary Choncoff, who was one of the strongest supporters of the ASU-UKIM [Универзитетот „Св. Кирил и Методиј“/University of Saints Cyril and Methodius] academic exchange from its inception in 1973.

AMB Ivanovski's Choncoff Lecture draws on his long experience with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of North Macedonia. He will address an audience with interests in the contemporary challenges facing North Macedonia, with regard to enduring domestic political tensions, the long path to EU membership, and energy dependence, especially in the context of the sanctions regime following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This event is sponsored by the ASU Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies

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Note that the capitol of North Macedonia, the city of Skopje, has been paired with Tempe, Arizona, as a Sister City and the two cities have built a strong relationship since 1971.