This is the Balkans

The outcome of the referendum in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the country's name demonstrates that the broader region of which Greece is part is also caught up in an unusual and certainly anti-systemic mood.

The result was, first of all, a defeat for the West. The United States and the European Union repeated the fatal mistake made in the "yes" campaign during Greece's bailout referendum in 2015. Foreign systemic officials from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Skopje. Faced with this big albeit conventional campaign, opponents of the deal quietly mobilized on social media. As has often been seen in recent years, the resistance movement managed to beat the regular army.

FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is not a particularly charismatic politician and support for him is rather hollow. He will now try...