Conflict prevention and the issue of higher education in the mother tongue: The case of the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

After being largely neglected in the 20th century, today conflict prevention occupies an increasingly important role on the agenda of policy makers. At the same time, minorities have a significant impact on political stability and security in the world as at present most of the conflicts have an inter-ethnic character. Among various aspects of minority rights, the right to education in the mother tongue, including at the higher level, has led to many disputes. Besides the Macedonian case, which will be presented in this article, the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluc-Napoca (Romania) and the idea of the establishment of Hungarian language Universities in Slovakia and Vojvodina (Serbia) could be recalled as well. The case of Priština University in Kosovo demonstrates that the unresolved question of adequate education in minority languages could not only be a source of tension; it could also provide a fertile ground for the growth of nationalism and even separatism. © 2008 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.