This paper attempts to analyse territorial reorganisation policy interventions in Macedonia, first in 1995 and again in 2004, which overreached their aims and objectives; and where economic viability and institutional reform were trumped by ethnic factors in defining local government boundaries. The core argument is that through territorial reorganisation, opportunities are provided to major ethnic political parties, both Macedonian and Albanian, in order to exercise more power by increasing their 'market share' in local governments. This paper argues that this political approach adds to a higher level of segregation among ethnic communities. Further, this paper clearly explains how balancing political, economical and institutional qualifications for the two territorial policy interventions posed challenges in Macedonia due to its citizens perceptions and demographic profile.In understanding the need for territorial re-organisations in Macedonia, one must not ignore historical legacy and developments around the region in the last decade. Immediately after Macedonia became a sovereign and independent state in September 1991, the new Macedonian constitution was drawn up and later adopted in November 1991. This revealed tensions between two major ethnic groups over constitutional nationalism and the principle of democracy. It was not until 2001 when the Ohrid Framework Agreement was signed through mediation of the international community that the country's political leadership recognised the need for a new political discourse in order to bring more social and economic progress to the country.

The paper explores the role of the municipal councilors in the budget process in the Republic of Macedonia as well as their role in motivating citizen participation in the budgetary process in the Republic of Macedonia. We demonstrate that municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia employ various forms of participatory mechanisms in the process of public policies and budgets according to their context. There are vivid dissimilarities in terms of opportunities and scope of citizen participation as well as discrepancies of councilors capacity to facilitate this process when cross-matching information and data derived from small rural and bigger urban municipalities. It is evident that very little has been accomplished in terms of defining uniformed processes and developing systems related to the relations between councilors and local community. We identify barriers that are impediment to a genuine involvement of the councilors as mediators between the Mayor and the community in the local budgeting process. We argue that any policy intervention in this dimension ought to be tailor-made, hence every municipality has its specific features that ought to be taken into account when designing an intervention to address shortcomings of the processes and the systems.

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Education (good teachers and good schools) is crucial for the successful integration of vulnerable groups in the society. Multicultural diversity presents an opportunity to make schools more inclusive, creative and open-minded. Although there are different projects and activities for Roma inclusion in schools, the number of Roma children attending formal education is still very low. Without having attended formal education, the chances for social exclusion are high and minimal for leading a self-defined life. To increase the rate of school registration and the rate for completion, long-term policy interventions and financial support from international donations are needed. This paper aims to analyze the general situation of Roma children and youth the age of pre-school education, primary and secondary education, as well as the engagement of youth in volunteering activities as a significant role in the inclusion of Roma children in schools. Engagement in volunteering activities can help young people to be more integrated into society, as through volunteering they gain valuable experiences, new skills, and competencies that can improve their employability possibilities and enhance their attitudes towards citizenship.

In this article, the authors present several topics related to the nascent development of a merit-based hiring system in North Macedonia. This paper employs a normative approach. We advocate for a merit-based hiring system, similar to the American model. First, we explore the pressure exerted by the European Commission to adopt a merit-based system at all levels of government as a condition for entry into the European Union. Second, we delve into the patronage system in North Macedonia. Third, we provide a short history of patronage in the United States and the difficulty that nation had in curbing its entrenched patronage system. Fourth, we discuss the advantages of a merit-based hiring system, namely the creation of good governance, the improvement of employee morale, the development of more public confidence in government, the reduction of the influence of ethnic politics and the furtherance of the rule of law. Finally, we present an example drawn from the American federal government about the basic procedures of a merit-based hiring process.