This specific project was sociological research on the attitudes of Greeks towards Greece’s northern neighbor, which at the time was known with the provisional description “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (FYROM). This project was one of the very first research studies explicitly focusing on the name dispute and exploring beliefs and attitudes about Greece’s relations with its northern neighbor.
The project’s study focused on Greek Public Opinion of the “Name Dispute” and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The study resulted from a survey which aimed to measure Greek public attitudes about international life in general and about the “Macedonia” dispute, its parameters, and potential solutions, and was the first survey of its kind. The results indicated highly pessimistic, introverted, and distrustful attitudes toward international affairs, and public opinion was emotional in its attitudes towards the name dispute and FYROM, resulting in a highly rejectionist outlook. The survey showed that, twenty-five years after the emergence of the new “Macedonian question”, the issue had not been forgotten by Greek public opinion and still remained very relevant.
The report was authored by Dr. Ioannis Armakolas and George Siakas.
The study was made possible through funding from the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University.
