Introducing Multi-Ethnic Policing in Macedonia[1]: The Role of the OSCE.

After the break-up of the Yugoslav federation, the last republic to face civil conflict was Macedonia, which only experienced limited fighting and civil strife. In 2001, Macedonia's fragile interethnic balance collapsed and fighting between the Macedonian armed forces and the Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) erupted. However, the International Community resolved the conflict before it spread widely and immediately after that launched activities to accelerate the joining of Macedonia to European Union (EU). This study examines international assistance for reconciliation within a peacebuilding context. Particularly, it focuses on the activities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as a peacebuilding actor. The OSCE has already been working to provide ethnic minorities' equal representation within the Police and to implement police reforms in Macedonia. This paper also briefly discusses the incidents in recent years in Macedonia and the contributions and efforts of the International Police in this reform process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]