This document summarizes Bulgaria's historical aspirations toward Macedonia and explores attitudes of Bulgaria's media elite toward Macedonia's linguistic self-identification. Key points:
- Bulgaria has long considered Macedonia as historically part of its territory and population but never fully achieved this claim. This shaped Bulgaria's history and national psyche.
- Bulgaria fought several wars in the 20th century inspired by the goal of regaining Macedonia but ended up with only a small part of the claimed territory.
- Language is a key source of national identity in the Balkans. Bulgaria denies the existence of a separate Macedonian language and considers it a dialect of Bulgarian. This became known as the "language dispute" between the countries.
This document summarizes Bulgaria's historical aspirations toward Macedonia and explores attitudes of Bulgaria's media elite toward Macedonia's linguistic self-identification. Key points:
- …