Македонското прашање: Британија и јужниот Балкан 1939-1949

The Macedonian Question: Britain and the Southern Balkans, 1939–1949 by Dimitris Livanios examines how the long-standing dispute over Macedonia’s identity and political future became entangled with British foreign policy during WWII and the early Cold War. Using British diplomatic and intelligence archives, Livanios traces the shift from a regional nationalist issue to a matter of Great Power strategy.

He outlines the pre-war background, then details how wartime Britain navigated the Bulgar–Yugoslav rivalry, Axis occupation, and partisan movements whose aims touched on the Macedonian problem. In the post-war years, Britain opposed Yugoslav–Bulgarian federation plans, worried about their impact on Greece, and reacted to the creation of the People’s Republic of Macedonia within Yugoslavia.

The study shows that Britain’s stance, balancing containment of communism, support for Greece, and later cautious engagement with Tito after his split from Stalin, both constrained and indirectly legitimized the emerging Macedonian national identity. Livanios frames the decade as a critical period when local nationalism, wartime politics, and Cold War rivalry converged in the southern Balkans.