Supporting Parliamentary Strengthening in North Macedonia

By Avin French, Undergraduate student in the UT Government Department

I cannot say that North Macedonia was the place I thought I would spend my summer last year. I could not even tell you that it was at the top of the list of vacation destinations prior to arriving in Skopje, but after spending six weeks in this alluring place, engaging with the people, exposing myself to the culture, and studying the nation, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity Embedded Scholars has given me at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in North Macedonia.

The first thing I noticed when the plane wheels hit the ground was the mountains. The city is almost completely surrounded by peaks that would take days to traverse if you wanted to see all of them. The drive from the airport made me put away my headphones and gaze out the window at the variance from the flat Texas landscape that I was used to. As I noticed the landscape fade into the city, I was greeted by sprawling brutalist architecture and a city full of farmer’s markets, coffee shops, and hard-working people from top to bottom. When I stepped out of my car and got settled into my apartment, I realized quickly that I needed to buy groceries and toiletries for my stay; this is where I first encountered the North Macedonian cultural experience.

I tried to walk to a nearby farmer’s market: it was empty. I attempted to go to a small grocery store: it was locked. Eventually I found a mall that was just in the process of closing even before five o’clock. It took me all too long to figure out how seriously society took its Sundays because of the large Orthodox community in North Macedonia. The next day I was reminded that the culture was an important aspect of what I was there to study upon walking through the office doors.

Throughout my time with NDI, my research has revolved around the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and recommendations for the assembly to best fulfill its mission in the country. My initial introduction to North Macedonian culture was necessary to better understand the people electing parliamentary officials. I often found that my research would intertwine with things I saw walking to and from work, when utilizing public transportation, and when communicating with people outside the office. The material I thought would be critical to my paper quickly became points of personal understanding for the environment I was living in.

Interview with the head of the Parliamentary Budget Office, held in NDI’s office in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia in Skopje, North Macedonia.

My first assignment was on my second day in the country, when I got to interview many staffers in parliament and groups that support the assembly’s work. This was my first experience with a formal interview. Nonetheless, throughout the course of the day, and with guidance from NDI staff and the interviewees, I garnered an expansive understanding of parliamentary issues that I would carry with me through other interviews. My eventual goal is to be a trial lawyer and my current background is in communications and legislative affairs, so the dozen parliamentary interviews I had the chance to conduct for my research certainly developed my communication skills and made me all but certain that my professional life moving forward was in a field I’d enjoy.

Touring the Assembly of North Macedonia’s TV studio, created in partnership with NDI to increase the transparency of parliament and public engagement with legislators.

This work didn’t just stop at authorized meetings in suits and ties, but rather spilled out into the many hours of field work we conducted. We went out on caravans with NDI in which members of parliament would answer constituent questions and educate the youth on the job of their legislature. We got a chance to speak informally with prime ministers and members of parliament (MPs) alike to put a finger on the pulse of the nation. We were given opportunities to engage with high level officials that I do not believe any other program would be able to offer in this way.

 Setting up for an NDI parliamentary caravan for MPs to speak with constituents.

We also got a chance to travel internationally with the program to see how another, newer government in the region was dealing with its challenges. The people of Kosovo were exceptionally welcoming, with streets named after the presidents who aided in their establishment and American flags intertwined with the Albanian and Kosovar ones billowing in the wind. We spoke with judges from the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and got to further dissect the construction of their government in an area like the Balkans with extensive ethnic differences in a small area.

Visiting the Constitutional Court of Kosovo in Pristina, Kosovo.

Upon returning to North Macedonia, I realized that there was so much value in traveling from place to place in this region, especially for the kind of work I was doing. I made it a point to continue these travels to the major centers within the country. I still can not decide whether the bustling streets of Skopje, the clear waters of Lake Ohrid, or the idyllic canyons of Matka could be done justice in the few words I have given them. I took my weekends to bounce around the country at a rapid pace and found not only satisfaction, but I found my work everywhere.

Kayaking in Matka Canyon in North Macedonia.

Studying parliament doesn’t just mean seeing the building or talking with MPs, but also seeing the impact of their policies and decisions. I never saw a single person jaywalking in Skopje because of a tragic car crash that happened due to lack of driving regulation enforcement, and Ohrid had crystal clear waters because of affirmed international restrictions on pollution in the lakes. Finding the things I was researching in the world around me motivated me to focus on the work I was doing and find ways I could help out the community that had fostered me for the weeks prior.

NDI Program Director Lidija Zafirovska, Embedded Scholar Avin French, NDI Senior Resident Country Director Robert Scott Heaslet, and NDI Finance Director Taip Rushiti at the NDI North Macedonia office in Skopje.

To be deserving of this opportunity is not something I take lightly, and I am equally grateful for the community of people who accepted this opportunity alongside me. My cohort included some of the most talented and knowledgeable individuals I have ever met with years of experience in fields from campaign management to security. Beyond my many trips around the country and passion for the work, I often felt the most satisfied when listening to the stories of my desk mates who sailed around islands in their free time and flew across the globe for work. I hope my research can aid NDI in as full a capacity as it has aided me, but there can be no payment more valuable than the moment of clarity when the country around you becomes more than that. I am grateful I got to see North Macedonia as its vast mountains, as the influence of its government, and above all else as a people.