BRITAIN AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 1942-1946: CONSPIRACY THEORY OR CHAOS THEORY?

This paper explores the background of British foreign policy and the emergence of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia within the second Yugoslavia. It suggests that there was a great uncertainty about the future of the territory in 1944 and British policy towards Tito was often based on speculation and ignorance of his plans for Macedonia after the conflict. The traditional Philhellenism of the British elite also played a part in policymaking. The prime factor in policy evaluation was to maintain a strong stable authority in Belgrade after the World War II and to resist the growth of Bulgarian and hence Russian influence in the wider region of the Southern Balkans.