The tension created by the “naming dispute” between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia and the complexities of the domestic politics in both countries have made it difficult for its left to engage in a cross-border dialogue.

In Macedonia, the ruling social-democratic party, a successor of the one-party regime of the Yugoslav era, is implementing neoliberal policies while pursuing a deeper integration in the Western bloc. In Greece, Alexis Tsipras and Syriza buckled under domestic and international pressure to become loyal executors of privitization and austerity.

There are, however, forces in both countries that resist that disastrous course, opposing both nationalism and neoliberalism. In this interview, Stathis Kouvelakis, a member of Popular Unity in Greece, and Nikola Slavevski from the newly created Macedonian party Levica (“The Left”) discuss the current rising nationalist tension and increasing US involvement in the Balkans and the way the Left should respond.