This book contextualizes the gendered specter of illiquidity in a broader
historical and geographical context, engaging directly with the evolution of
Macedonia’s political economy. I spent signifi cant time analyzing formal indicators used by economists to describe the general state of the Macedonian economy (and that of neighboring countries) and mining data from the Macedonian National Archives, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) archives,
and other similar sources to explore the past circumstances that framed
Gruevski’s regime and his fi nancial networks. Th e book is deeply shaped by
comparative questions that were elaborated during dialogue with political
economists and fi nancial professionals about my archival and quantitative
fi ndings. Th e result is a syncopated narrative that intersects numerical and
comparative issues with the existential struggle of Macedonian workers and
managers—an organic approach to political economy, inspired by the critical philosophy of praxis present in much of heterodox Marxist literature28 that describes the micro genealogies connecting everyday actions to macro changes