The birth of a nationalistic planning doctrine: the ‘Skopje 2014’ project

The article proposes that the politically driven planning of a city centre urban renewal project in Skopje, Macedonia, titled ‘Skopje 2014’, due to its coherent manifestation and wide impact, can be seen as a newly formed planning doctrine. From the loosely defined but consistent practices surrounding the project, the article deduces the unofficial imposed principles of the doctrine, as well as its legal implications and spatial consequences. Through the ‘Skopje 2014’ case study, the complex relationship between urban planning and national politics is discussed, with a focus on the emergence of planning doctrines as a consequence of state ideologies. The terminology ‘nationalistic planning doctrine’is suggested as one reflecting the political backbone and origin of the ‘Skopje 2014’ project and the doctrine behind it. The article aims to respond to a call from Oren Yiftachel to contribute to the debates on planning theory from the South-East, as opposed to the mainstream planning theory that has predominantly been based on the conditions of global North-West cities (2006), and suggests that the role of nationalism in urban space and planning policy could be, in many contexts, a crucial element of grounded planning theories from the South-East.