what were the reasons for the dissolution of former yugoslavia?
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George LimantzakisTRANSCRIPT
“What were the reasons for the dissolution of former Yugoslavia?
What was the role of rival national identities in the process?”
Module Convenors: Christina Koulouri, Panteion University, Athens
and Athena Leoussi, University of Reading, UK
George Limantzakis
* Turkish Studies Graduate, Holder of ΜΑ Degree on European & International Relations,
PhD Candidate at the Faculty of History & Political Science at Panteio University
Athens, June 2014
2
Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Was Yugoslavia an artificial state or a political evolution? ……………………………. 4
Interethnic tensions test the unity of the new state ……………………………………… 5
Socialist Yugoslavia accommodates nations on a federal basis ……………………. 7
Political Background: Structural Problems and Underlying Tensions ……………. 8
The ’74 Constitution: Solution or a new phase of the Yugoslav Problem? ……. 9
Economic Background: Growing Disparities, Less Solidarity ………………………… 10
Death of Tito sets the centrifugal tensions loose ……………………..……………………. 11
Reform in Eastern Europe further undermines Yugoslav Unity ……………………… 12
Contending strategies fuel and fueled by nationalism …………………………………… 12
Multi-party elections won by nationalists set a new basis ……………………………… 14
Intervention against Slovenia & Croatia …………………………………………………………. 15
The Bosnian War and the end of the federation …………………………………………….. 17
Conclusion ……………………..……………………..……………………..…………………………………. 18
Annex I: Maps ……………………..……………………..……………………..………………………… 19
Annex II: What’s the most proper term to describe what happened in
Yugoslavia? Was it dissolution, disintegration or a series of secessions? ……. 21
Bibliography ……………………..……………………..……………………..………………………………. 22
3
“Yugoslavia is the country with seven frontiers,
six republics, five nations, four languages,
three religions and two alphabets, but one boss”
Introduction
The present paper has been written and presented in the framework of a post-
graduate module on European Identities in Panteio University during the Spring
Semester of 2014. Its purpose is to shortly examine and explain the reasons for
the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the role of rival national identities in this
process. Since the subject is quite large by definition, the present analysis will
mostly focus on the background upon which the disintegration of the Yugoslav
state took place -especially from the ’60s on, while examining the differing ways
in which its constituent peoples envisioned the common state and its purpose.
Unfortunately, due to the restricted time available and the limited volume of this
paper, the role of rival national identities is not analyzed as extensively as the
author would like, and emphasis is put mostly on how they interacted with each
other, rather than on how, when and by whom they were influenced. In this
context, one should consider this paper to serve mainly as a short analysis of this
large issue, to which much more could and should be added.
The question can also be hardly specified in terms of time, as Yugoslavia
was an amalgam of regions and peoples with very different historic experiences
from the beginning: Slovenia and Croatia had been for long dependencies of the
Austrian Habsburgs, and actually Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous region of
Hungary between 1868 and 1918. Bosnia-Herzegovina had been an Ottoman
province for more than four centuries before its annexation by Austria in 1908,
whereas Serbia and Montenegro had been historic kingdoms whose independence
was recognized only during the Berlin Conference in 1878. About one third of
Ottoman Macedonia, later defined as Vardar Macedonia, became part of Serbia
after the Balkan Wars of 1912-3, and later a distinct republic within the socialist
Yugoslavia.1 Although most of these areas were populated by Slavic peoples who
had significantly interacted with each other throughout centuries, bridging their
cultural differences, social practices and political goals in a common state would
prove a major challenge for both the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1944) and
Socialist Yugoslavia (1944-1992), with differing results.
1 Please note that the use of the term “Macedonia” and its derivatives at the present paper
do not imply recognition of the former Yugoslav republic under its constitutional name
(“Republic of Macedonia”) and serve only reference purposes.
4
Was Yugoslavia an artificial state or a political evolution?
Before we proceed with examining which were the reasons for the dissolution of
Yugoslavia, we most probably need to examine which was the driving force in
creating this state in the first place. The creation of the Yugoslav state has often
been connected to the notion of Yugoslavism (Jugosloventsvo), a term designed
to refer to the cultural unity of all the South Slav peoples of southeastern Europe,
whose political union it advocated. The idea was introduced in the late 19th
century by two Croatian Catholic Bishops, Josip Juraj Strossmayer and Franjo
Rački, who used it to describe a supranational cultural patriotism, aiming to unite
South Slavs on the basis of common origins and cultural ties.2 Although the term
became popular by the turn of the century, the movement found little support
outside Croatia, while at the same time facing strong competition from other
nationalist movements, such as Serbian nationalism.
Serbs were initially not interested in the idea, seeing little benefit in a joint
movement with the Croats and the Slovenes of Austria-Hungary. However, Serb
foreign minister Ilija Garašanin cooperated with Strossmeyer in the late 1860’s on
a program aiming to create “a Yugoslav state free from Austria or Turkey”, and in
this context Serbian policy gradually shifted into seeking not only to unite all
Serbs in one state, but to unite Yugoslavs, emulating in a way Piedmont’s leading
role in the unification of Italy (Risorgimento).3 The idea was also adopted by
Croat nationalists, who envisioned it as a means to achieve the unification of
Croatian lands (Slavonia, Dalmatia and Istria) divided under Austria-Hungary,4 as
well as by Slovene politicians, such as Anton Korošec, who endorsed the idea of
Yugoslav unification as a means to free Slovenia from Austrian rule and promote
its Slavic identity, which was considered to be under threat.
2 By mentioning “common origins” the bishops made reference to the mass move of both
Croats and Serbs towards more or less the same areas they now inhabit in the Western
Balkans, back in the 9th century, while also putting great emphasis on their common
language. L. Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.4-5. For more, see Ch. Jelavich, “The Croatian
Problem in the Habsburg Empire”, Austrian History Yearbook, 1967, pp. 83-115.
3 These ambitious projects were however a far cry from Serbia’s actual potential to pursue
them, as shown during the Bosnian Crises of 1877-8 and 1908. S. Pavlowitch, A History of
the Balkans, 2000, p.179.
4 Sharing the same ideas did not restrict these groups from calling on each other for
assistance; quite the contrary. Noticeably, Ljudevit Gaj, one of the major figures of the
Illyrian movement (later considered ethnic Croatian) had repeatedly appealed to Serbia -
along with Dalmatia and Russia- for moral and financial support. F. Eterovich & Chr.
Spalatin (ed.), Croatia: Land, People, Culture, University of Toronto Press, 1964, p. 24.
5
These variant interpretations of Yugoslavism soon created two major
internal divisions within the movement, with one faction promoting a centralized
state and the assimilation of all ethnicities into a single Yugoslav nationality, and
another supporting a decentralized federation that would preserve existing
identities, opposing the idea of centralization that was deemed as effectively
favoring Serb hegemony. Although evident, this difference in interpretations and
political goals was not clarified enough by the time of the Corfu Declaration (20
July 1917), when Dalmatian Croat politician Ante Trumbić, head of the Yugoslav
Committee, and Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić agreed on the foundations of
the post-war common state, which would be called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats
and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca) and governed under the
Serbian House of Karađorđević.5
Interethnic tensions test the unity of the new state
After the end of World War I and the proclamation of the new kingdom on
December 1st 1918, merging the Yugoslav peoples into a single state became a
fait accompli and the new challenge was to make them work as one in a
functional state.6 Since Serbia already had a government, military, and police
force, many Serbs saw fit that she would form the nucleus of the new state.7 This
was not the case though for many Yugoslav and Croat nationalists, who favored
giving more rights to ethnic groups and even self-administration to some “historic
entities”, in a way that would resemble the administrative structure of the Dual
Monarchy.8 The issue continued to cause considerable strife in and out of the
5 Pašić was initially hostile to the idea of Yugoslav unity, preferring an enlarged Serbia over
a unified Yugoslav state. His objections were related to the agreements he had made with
the Entente powers, according to which Serbia would annex all of Bosnia-Herzegovina, half
of Dalmatia (up to Split), all of Vojvodina and most of Slavonia (almost as far as Sisak).
For more, see D. Djordjević, The Creation of Yugoslavia 1914-1918, 1980, p.68.
6 The new kingdom was made up of the formerly independent kingdoms of Serbia and
Montenegro (whose union is known as Ujedinjenje) and a substantial amount of territories
that were part of the Dual Empire, among which Croatia-Slavonia, Vojvodina, Carniola,
part of Styria and Dalmatia, as well as the crown province of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
7 Such expectations were reinforced by the demographic factor, as Serbs were the
majority ethnic group in the new state. According to I. Banac, the population of Yugoslavia
in 1918 was divided into 38,8% Serbs, 23,7% Croats, 8,5% Slovenes, 6% Bosnian
Muslims and 4,8% Slavomacedonians. The National Question in Yugoslavia, 1984, p.58.
8 Many Croatian politicians actually expected Yugoslavia to evolve into an improved version
of Austria-Hungary, where Croatia would play the role of Hungary. S. Pavlowitch, A History
of the Balkans, 2000, p.369.
6
parliament, until King Alexander sought to resolve the political crisis by assuming
dictatorial powers on 6 January 1929, renaming the country “Kingdom of
Yugoslavia” (Kraljevina Jugoslavija) and pronouncing that there is one single
Yugoslav nation with three tribes.9 Alexander also changed the internal division of
the country, creating nine new banovinas (provinces) named after rivers, in a
way that no ethnic group would constitute the majority in them.
Political change after King Alexander’s assassination in 1934 brought an
end to this policy, although the designation “Yugoslav” continued to be promoted
and widely used.10 Interethnic tensions continued to trouble the kingdom until
1939, when a consensus was reached between Yugoslav prime minister Dragiša
Cvetković and Croat politician Vladimir Maček regarding the creation of a new
ethnic Croatian Banovina (Banovina Hrvatska), which would function as a distinct
Croatian state within Yugoslavia, in a way that many Croatian politicians had
lobbied for since 1918. The agreement had come late though, as war was once
again imminent in Europe. In April 1941, Nazi Germany invaded and
dismembered Yugoslavia, establishing the Independent State of Croatia
(Nezavisna Država Hrvatska) as a puppet state under the fascist organization
Ustaše and their Poglavnik, Ante Pavelić, and “restoring” the independence of
Serbia and Montenegro, while other areas were annexed to Italy, Hungary or
Bulgaria.11 Twenty years after its establishment, Yugoslavia had ceased to exist
and borders in the Balkans were redrawn according to different national interests,
those of the Nazis and their revisionist allies.
9 In this context, “Yugoslav” was imposed as an ethnic designation on all Slav subjects,
and the state motto became “One nation, one king, one country” (Jedan narod, jedan
kralj, jedan država), imitating other totalitarian regimes of Interwar Europe. S. Pavlowitch,
A History of the Balkans, 2000, p.393.
10 Alexander was assassinated along with the French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou during
an official visit to Marseille, made in order to strengthen ties between the two countries,
which were already members of the Little Entente. The assassin, Vlado Cernozemski was a
member of the pro-Bulgarian VMRO, which at the time cooperated with the Croatian
Ustaše, led by Ante Pavelić. S. Pavlowitch, A History of the Balkans, 2000, p.397.
11 More specifically, Italy annexed the area around Ljubljana, parts of Dalmatia east of
Zadar/Zara and up to Split, as well as the area of Kotor in Montenegro. Hungary annexed
the areas of Prekmurje and Medmurje along its western border with Yugoslavia, as well as
Baranja and Bačka, whereas Bulgaria annexed parts of southeastern Serbia and most of
Yugoslav Macedonia. Montenegro became nominally independent (although a de facto
Italian protectorate), and Serbia -including Banat- came under German military command.
For more, see J. Tomasevich, “Yugoslavia during the Second World War”, in W. Vucinich,
Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment, 1969, pp. 59–118.
7
Socialist Yugoslavia accommodates nations on a federal basis
The division of Yugoslavia -and especially the creation of an ethnic Croatian state
under Nazi auspices- led to the resurgence of older ethnic divisions, and even so
once Croatian Ustašas started promoting harsh persecutions against ethnic Serbs
and other minority groups.12 Ethnic divisions were also evident among resistance
groups, with the pro-Serbian royalist Četniks -led by Draža Mihailović- being one
of the most important, rivaled only by the Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans
under Josip Broz Tito. Although the Partisans soon found themselves fighting
against both the Četniks and the Nazis (which eventually even cooperated), they
were really effective in promoting a common vision for post-war Yugoslavia,
propagated under the slogan “Brotherhood and Unity” (Bratstvo i Jedinstvo) and
aspiring to organize the post-war state as a federation of six republics.13
By the end of the war, the Partisans had managed to liberate Yugoslavia
with minor foreign assistance and win popular support that led to taking over
power, as the old elites were divided and had either been destroyed by the Nazis
and their collaborators, or by their ideological allies and civil war.14 As a result,
Partisans won 88% of votes in the 1945 elections and were now free to
implement their program. Yugoslavia thereafter applied strictly the Soviet model
(including the nationalization of banks, factories and businesses, collectivization
of farms and persecution of the opposition), which they modified only in the
nationalities policy field: According to the new 1946 Constitution, the peoples of
Yugoslav Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as the Muslims of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, were to be recognized as distinct nations, a decision that would
reduce interethnic tensions within the country for a couple of decades.15
12 The Ustaše began as a conservative Catholic fascist movement that functioned as a
terrorist organization prior to World War II, supporting not only the creation of an ethnic
Croat state, but also its expansion up until the Drina and the outskirts of Belgrade. Once
on power, the Ustaše emphasized the need for a racially “pure” Croatia, and to that end
they promoted genocide against Serbs, Jews and Roma people. J. Tomasevich, War and
Revolution in Yugoslavia: Occupation and Collaboration, 2001, pp. 351-352.
13 Yugoslav Communists believed that organizing the state under the domination of one
nation had proved highly problematic in the Interwar period, therefore they aimed to
replace politics based on national identities with loyalty and identification with the new
Yugoslav state. M. Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.6.
14 S. Pavlowitch, A History of the Balkans, 2000, p.466.
15 These three nations, along with the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes would be hence
recognized as constituent nations (narodi) of Yugoslavia, enjoying a different status from
minority groups such as the Hungarians and Albanians, which were considered nationalities
(narodnosti) because they already had nation-states outside Yugoslavia.
8
Tito refused however to be put under strict control from Moscow, and this
resulted to his split with Stalin and to Yugoslavia’s expulsion from the COMINFORM
in 1948. As Yugoslavia subsequently found itself economically and politically
isolated from its former allies, it sought its own -later called the “third”- road to
socialism by embarking on a series of fundamental reforms. In this context,
decentralization was further promoted, resulting in the fragmentation of the
Yugoslav political structure into six republic and two provincial communist parties.
Each enjoyed a monopoly over its own territory and later even held veto powers
over federal organs’ decisions. This was labeled liberalization at the time, but it
worked against Yugoslav unity on the long run, as each republican communist
party slowly started to identify with traditional national goals, reviving pre-
socialist demands and slogans.16 Other reforms were related to the establishment
of a new unique economic system and the policy of Non-Alignment, which
became equally important elements of socialist Yugoslavia.17
Political Background: Structural Problems and Underlying Tensions
The first serious political crisis in post-war Yugoslavia came about in 1966, when
Alexander Ranković, Head of State Security since 1944 and a close friend of Tito,
was removed on accusations that he planned to overthrow him. The move
signaled a shift from centralist policies, and opposition groups in favor of further
liberalization, political and economic reforms started becoming vocal. This was
particularly the case in Croatia, where a growing student movement called for
cultural autonomy, further decentralization and the recognition of Croatian as a
separate language from Serbian.18 Although reactions were initially downplayed
and underestimated, the situation became worrying after some demands were
adopted by local Croatian Communist Party members, such as Savka Dabčević-
Kučar and Mika Tripalo.19 This forced Tito to play the “outer threat” card and
16 M. Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.7.
17 The Yugoslav administrative model of state organization and its mixed economic system
have often been described as a success, as also shown by the country’s steady growth
through the ’50s and ’60s and the political stability it enjoyed until the early 1980s. M.
Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.8-9.
18 Some of the demands went as far as suggesting the reformation of Yugoslavia as a
confederation, or Croatia to be given a distinct seat from Yugoslavia at the United Nations,
as Ukraine and Belarus already had, although being part of the Soviet Union. S. Ramet,
Nationalism and Federalism in Yugoslavia, 1962-1991, 1992, p. 197.
19 Many attempted to disassociate the movement from party politics by just calling it
Masovni Pokret (Mass movement) and later Hrvatsko Proljeće (Croatian Spring), so as to
resound the Prague Spring and its unfortunate end brought about by Soviet intervention.
9
appeal to the republics to remain united, arguing that should there any conflict
occur in Yugoslavia, Moscow would seize the opportunity to invade, as had
already happened in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968).20
Unrest in Croatia coincided with the party leadership of Kosovo officially
asking that it became a republic, a demand rejected on the grounds that its
majority population (Albanians) already had a “mother state” outside Yugoslavia,
and there was no provision for provinces becoming republics in the constitution.
Tensions also became evident at the event of the Macedonian Orthodox Church
unilaterally announcing its autocephaly in 1967, a fact that caused friction with
the Serbian Orthodox Church, which refused to recognize it.21 In the face of
growing disobedience and unrest, Tito eventually approved the right of central
authorities to intervene “if a danger for the Communist system should occur”, and
the movement in Croatia was decisively cracked down.22 Although Tito later
adopted many of its demands, the suppression of nationalists by the regime had
the negative side-effect of identifying nationalism as the primary alternative to
communism, therefore making it a strong underground movement.23
The ’74 Constitution: Solution or a new phase of the Yugoslav Problem?
Claiming he had acknowledged the need for change, Tito embarked on a
constitutional reform, whose named goal was the genuine decentralization of the
decision-making process, but without the mobilization of national groups.24 In this
context, the 1974 Constitution reinforced centrifugal dynamics in Yugoslavia by
expanding the representation of republics and provinces in all electoral and policy
forums, while vesting them with a series of veto rights in important matters.
Handing over that much power to the republics would later prove a significant
problem (especially in times of crisis), as each one of the republics was now in
position to block the others from taking decisions contrary to its interests, even if
20 B. Jelavich, History of the Balkans, p.392.
21 The Serbian Holy Synod denounced the decision and condemned the Macedonian clergy
as schismatic. The Macedonian Church remains to this day unrecognized by the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and all other Orthodox churches, in defense of the Serbian opposition.
22 For more on the “Croatian Spring” and its abrupt end, also see A. Cuvalo, The Croatian
National Movement 1966-1972, New York, 1990.
23 D. Jović, Yugoslavia: a state that withered away, 2009, p.21.
24 Granting more authority to the republics would allow Tito to counter-balance elites by
playing off one with another, while at the same time they could always be accused for
threatening state unity, if their policies were evaluated as supportive to nationalist
movements. M. Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.7.
10
those coincided with federal ones. Additionally, Vojvodina and Kosovo, formerly
part of Serbia proper, became autonomous provinces enjoying many of the rights
republics had, simulated largely with them, but without being declared as such.25
As a result, the reform caused great resentment among Serbs, who viewed it as
the implementation of a policy “a weak Serbia for a strong Yugoslavia” at best, or
a “division of Serbia” (Podela Srbije) and an attempt to undermine their position
within the federation. These reactions led the leadership of SR Serbia to decide
not to ratify the new constitution along with the rest of the republics, and to put
forward a demand for its revision as soon as 1977.26
Economic Background: Growing Disparities, Less Solidarity
In the meanwhile, Yugoslavia had become dangerously vulnerable in the
economic field by the early ’80s, as economic interaction with the West had
opened up Yugoslav markets sooner than the rest of Central and Eastern Europe.
Back in the ’50s and ’60s, Yugoslavia had used this advantage to get easy loans
and cover its trade deficit, but as time went on Western trade barriers started
influencing negatively the country’s economic growth, undermining the country’s
ability to finance technological revitalization and boost its exports.27 At the same
time, the “Yugoslav way to socialism” -also known as the self-management
system- seemed to be reaching its limits, as public enterprises (usually managed
by well-connected party members) produced huge debts which the state offered
to cover in the name of maintaining social peace.28 This practice might have
worked for some time, but contributed to a constant rise of inflation, which was
hard to manage after some point.
As a result, Yugoslav foreign debt grew massively and reached 20 billion
USD by 1981. Belgrade managed to renegotiate it, in exchange for market
liberalization and severe austerity measures. Transition towards an even partially
25 In this context, the government of SR Serbia was restricted in making and carrying out
decisions that would apply to the provinces without the approval of their leadership, while
the autonomous provinces also obtained a vote in the Yugoslav Presidency (9 members in
total), which would not be necessarily cast in favor of SR Serbia.
26 The demand was rejected by the other republics, and Tito’s advanced age was enough
reason for Belgrade to slow down reforms so as to earn more time. S. Biserko, The
Dissolution of Yugoslavia as a subject of analysis and research, p.3.
27 The 1973 Oil Crisis further exacerbated the situation, as Yugoslav enterprises started
falling behind in competitiveness compared to the West, despite mass export subsidies. L.
Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.45.
28 M. Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.7.
11
market economy would prove a major challenge though, as it implied a high level
economic expertise and knowledge, which the Yugoslav Communist leaders did
not possess, and in fact was even contrary to their ideology up to that time.29
Furthermore, the lack of coordinating the economic policies of republics and their
ability to efficiently defend their interests -as being vested with veto powers-
would soon become an unsurpassable problem, as there were no institutional
mechanisms to arbitrate and settle differences between republics, “that had
become in all but name independent states”.30 The issue of growing disparities
and economic inequality between republics and autonomous provinces would
further exacerbate the situation, as their inability to agree on a common interest
resulted in rising tensions, mutual suspicion, claims of disadvantage and the
reinforcement of secessionist tendencies.31
Death of Tito sets the centrifugal tensions loose
As the economic crisis intensified and citizens throughout the country increasingly
blamed the establishment for Yugoslavia’s ills, the League of Communists also
suffered a crisis of legitimization.32 The rapid loss of the Party’s legitimacy and its
vanguard role took place all around Yugoslavia, but was most evident in the
republics of Slovenia and Croatia, where the League’s appeal almost completely
evaporated. Tito’s death on 4 May 1980 led to a further decline of Party influence
among the masses, as the main figurehead of the regime for decades was no
more, and unifying symbols became gradually less visible.33 The adoption of the
“collective leadership” system, consisting of year-long presidencies (on a rotation
basis out of the eight leaders of the republics and provinces) would prove highly
ineffective, as it created a power vacuum that encouraged further differentiations
among and within republics. As a result, it became more evident that republican
elites saw differently the goals of socialism and of the federal state, and to that
29 M. Bokić, Main reasons that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, 2011, p.7.
30 B. Denitch, Ethnic Nationalism: The tragic death of Yugoslavia, 1994, p.11.
31 D. Jović, Yugoslavia: a state that withered away, 2009, p.15.
32 This has been described as having two dimensions: a vertical one, as party members
and citizens lost confidence in the party elite’s capacity to resolve the country’s difficulties
and maintain cohesion, and a horizontal one, as each of the eight republican and provincial
parties grew more autonomous and unwilling to implement the countrywide decisions that
had been agreed upon on the federal level. L. Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.47.
33 As Milošević later mentioned, “Even before Tito’s death, the system didn’t function. Tito
did. After his death, however, nothing has functioned and nobody has been able to reach
agreement on anything”. L. Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.52.
12
end they had started behaving more as representatives of their national group,
abandoning pro-unity mottos and positions.34
Reform in Eastern Europe further undermines Yugoslav Unity
Internal factors were also reinforced by external ones in accelerating the
dissolution of Yugoslavia. The reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the
Soviet Union (Glasnost and Perestroika) in the late ’80s and the shift of balance
caused in international politics contributed in a way to accelerating events, as
Yugoslavia lost its strategic importance of an intermediary between the Eastern
and Western blocs.35 Consequently, the country also lost the Western economic
and political support it enjoyed for decades, and increasing pressure from the IMF
to reform its economy and institutions soon made it impossible for Yugoslav
reformers to manage transition through rising social disorder. The collapse of
communism throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union further undermined
the country’s ideological basis, encouraging anti-communist and nationalist
forces, mainly in the republics of Croatia and Slovenia. And as the three main
pillars of Titoism (“Brotherhood and Unity”, self-Management and non-Alignment)
had come under dispute, the threat of a potential Soviet invasion, used in the
past to forge Yugoslav unity, wasn’t effective any more in the Gorbachev era.
Contending strategies fuel and fueled by nationalism
Once the economic crisis had turned political, the key actors in defining the way
ahead would prove to be the three most economically influential republics, those
of Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, which also happened to see themselves as the
original founding nations of Yugoslavia.36 In Serbia, Slobodan Milošević rose to
power by exploiting ethnic nationalism as a political resource, calling for reforms
that would reassert the control of Serbian republican authorities over the
autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo. He called his campaign the
34 As prospects for the continued legitimacy and survival of the League of Communists
diminished, members of each regional communist elite became increasingly focused upon
their own survival and only secondarily concerned with cross-regional party unity.
35 Despite Yugoslavia’s non-aligned stance and extensive trading relations with the EC and
the US, the Reagan administration targeted its economy according to a 1984 National
Security Decision Directive (NSDD 133) titled US Policy towards Yugoslavia. A censored
version declassified in 1990 mentioned “expanded efforts to promote a 'quiet revolution' to
overthrow Communist governments and parties”, with the aim of reintegrating the
countries of Eastern Europe into a market-oriented economy.
36 S. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy: Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War, 1995, p.63.
13
“Anti-bureaucratic revolution”, rallying support under the motto “Strong Serbia,
Strong Yugoslavia”, which was successful among Serbs, but alienated Bosnian
Muslims, Croats, Albanians and Slovenes, as it reminded them of the Serb
hegemonic political affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and of Ranković’s
policies.37 The protests, called “Rallies of Truth”, were successful in overthrowing
the governments of Vojvodina and Kosovo by late 1988, as well as that of
Montenegro in early 1989, replacing them with allies of Milošević, thereby
creating a dominant voting bloc within the Yugoslav Presidency Council. It
therefore became more and more evident that popular protests moved by
nationalist rhetoric allowed elites to survive at the cost of undermining the unity
of Yugoslavia. Another significant milestone of Serbian nationalism was the highly
controversial Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (1986),
condemned at the time even by Milošević.38 Although fear of Albanian nationalism
and economic grievances were definitely important catalysts for the upsurge of
Serbian ethnic consciousness in the late 1980s, much of the existing literature
supports that nationalist rhetoric derived from a general and long-standing
dissatisfaction with the course of Yugoslav political development and its
pluralizing tendencies, which were blamed for the country’s difficulties.39
Trends were different, however, in the republics of Slovenia and Croatia,
where identification with Central European culture and multiparty democratic
traditions was stronger than in Serbia. Furthemore, the advent of anti-communist
opposition in Eastern Europe had intensified the already existing pressure for a
fundamental transformation of the Yugoslav regime, and repelled by Milošević’s
nationalist populism, Slovenian and Croatian reformers were accelerating efforts
to institutionalize political pluralism both within and outside the League.40 This
37 The use of popular slogans such as “Oh Serbia in three parts, you will be whole again”
(oj Srbijo iz tri dela, ponovo ćeš biti cela) did not help much in appeasing non-Serbs. A.
Nenadović, Politika in the Storm of Nationalism, 1993, p.23.
38 The SANU Memorandum, as it also became known, claimed to promote solutions on how
to restore Yugoslav unity, although it accused Tito of subjugating Serbia to Croatia and
Slovenia, and ethnic Albanians of committing genocide against Serbs in Kosovo. The
Memorandum was harshly condemned by the League of Communists and the government
of Serbia, led by Ivan Stambolić at the time. S. Ramet, Serbia Since 1989, 2005, p.321.
39 A particular focus of discontent was the 1974 constitutional arrangement, which had
reduced Serbia to one player in a game of eight, by establishing parity representation of
its two autonomous provinces in federal decision-making.
40 Demands for reform were often connected to claims that Slovenia had a quite large
contribution to the federal budget in relation to its influence on federal decision-making,
while at the same time many among the Slovene intellectual elite accused Serbs of being
14
divergence in strategies among republics led to holding the extraordinary 14th
Congress of the League of Communists in January 1990, where the Serbian and
Slovenian delegations disagreed not only about the future of the League and of
Yugoslavia proper, but even about the way of voting. Eventually, frustrated at
losing every vote on its proposals, the Slovenian delegation made a dramatic exit,
with the Croatian delegation following suit. This effectively marked the end of the
all-Yugoslav party, as the event -along with external pressure- caused the
adoption of multi-party systems in all republics.
Multi-party elections won by nationalists set a new basis
The first multi-party elections held in Yugoslavia in 1990 were overwhelmingly
won by opposition nationalist platforms in most republics, except for Serbia and
Montenegro, where re-branded Communist parties controlled by Milošević and his
allies were victorious. Particularly the victory of non-communist forces in Slovenia
and Croatia created a new political situation, since the principal theme of the
electoral contest was their future relationship to Yugoslavia.41 Although most
parties argued in favor of re-establishing Yugoslavia as a confederation, the
concept of disassociation (razdruživanje) had also become common, used to
describe the dissolution of the common state on the basis of mutual
understanding, if not agreement.42 In October 1990, the leaderships of Croatia
under Franjo Tudjman and Slovenia under Milan Kučan presented a common
proposal on the transformation of Yugoslavia into a confederation. According to it,
the Yugoslav republics were to become subjects of international law. There would
be no central government and no capital city, but there would be, on the other
hand, a common market, and a kind of a monetary union.43
Once the proposal was officially made public, the main issue was to sound
out the opinions of other republics. In this field, the Slovenes were frustrated to
up to Greater Serbian designs. L. Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.83 and D. Jović,
Yugoslavia: a state that withered away, 2009, p.18.
41 Slovenia rejected proposals for a new constitution along centralist principles and
president Kučan stated that there could be no way ahead without democracy and equality.
V. Meier, Yugoslavia: A History of its Demise, 1994, p.143.
42 V. Meier, Yugoslavia: A History of its Demise, 1994, p.147.
43 It was evident that the two republics took as a model the European Community, and the
preamble referred directly to it. Tudjman later explicitly argued that Yugoslavia should
transform into a kind of “Europe in a miniature”, with a unified market-oriented economic
space, founded on national states who would be exercising their own sovereignty V. Meier,
Yugoslavia: A History of its Demise, 1994, pp. 157.
15
realize that except for Croatia, the other republics were hesitant to move towards
a confederal structure, preferring to explore all other options before conceding to
the dissolution of Yugoslavia.44 As expected, Milošević rejected the proposal
outrightly, arguing that if Slovenes and Croats claimed a right to self-
determination, then ethnic Serbs in other republics should also enjoy the same
right. Both sides continued to exchange similar inflammatory statements and
tensions continued to rise, especially after the Croatian Sabor voted in favor of a
new constitution on 22 December 1990 that changed the status of ethnic Serbs in
Croatia, from a constituent nation (narod) to an ethnic minority (manjina).45 The
very next day, Slovenia held a referendum on independence, whereas Croatia
followed with its own on 2 May 1991. Since both resulted in overwhelming
majorities in favor (88.5% and 93.2% accordingly), the two republics went ahead
declaring their independence on 25 June 1991, looking to the EC for recognition.
Intervention against Slovenia & Croatia
Belgrade was now directly challenged either to acknowledge the new situation, or
intervene. Circles within the still influential Yugoslav Army (JNA) clearly favored
the second option, and the army mobilized against Slovenia on 26 June. The war
would not last though for more than ten days (27 June-7 July), as the army was
not interested in keeping by force a republic with almost no Serbs. Although such
a stance was welcomed by Ljubljana and most Western governments, at the
same time it proved that the actual intension of the leadership in Belgrade was
not to restore Yugoslavia, but to actually reform it as a Greater Serbia. In this
context, it became evident that the true prize for the Serbs and actual test on
Yugoslav unity would be Croatia, where a sizeable Serb minority (12% of its
population before the war) inhabited the areas of Krajina and Eastern Slavonia.
By early July, the European Community pressured parties to agree on a
three-month moratorium on independence, during which the Yugoslav Army
would complete its pull-out from Slovenia and negotiations for a new Yugoslav
44 Serbia was clearly and uncompromisingly in favor of a tight federation and Montenegro
was much about the same line. Bosnia still wanted in principle a federal state, though
under certain conditions: the army should be depoliticized and all human rights and the
rights of republics should be guaranteed. Bosnia would happily remain in such a state,
even if Slovenia should leave. Macedonia would gladly stay in Yugoslavia, whether it be
federal or confederal. V. Meier, Yugoslavia: A History of its Demise, 1994, p.170.
45 Another source of discontent was the fact that Serbs held a disproportionate number of
official posts in Croatia, creating a perception that Serbs functioned as guardians of the
communist regime, which restricted the expression of their distinct ethnic identity.
16
settlement would take place under British diplomat Lord Peter Carrington.46
However, European mediation did not bring about the desired result, as the
committee formed under Robert Badinter, President of the Constitutional Council
of France, claimed on 29 November 1991 that Yugoslavia was “in the process of
dissolution” and each republic was free to declare independence.47 Milošević
rejected the outcome, arguing that if republics were given a free hand in leaving
Yugoslavia, the same should apply in relation to Serbs living in these republics,
which should be free to unite with Serbia.48
Since no consensus regarding the future of Yugoslavia was achieved, each
side felt free to follow its own plans, even if that included the use of force.
Nationalist propaganda would play a major role in encouraging violence as a
means of settlement, as stereotypes of World War II depicting Croats as fascist
Ustaše and Serbs as royalist Četniks were broadly reproduced, often combined
with claims that the other side would readily engage in oppression and atrocities,
as had happened in the past. The first clashes took place between Croatian police
and Serb paramilitary forces in late March 1991 near the Plitvice Lakes, and by 1
April 1991 Serbs in Croatia declared SAO Krajina would secede from Croatia.49 As
conflict soon escalated into the Croatian or “Homeland War” (Domovinski Rat),
the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army shelled Dubrovnik and overrun big parts of
Slavonia, where ethnic tensions had also exploded into violence.
46 These were the terms of the so called Brijuni Agreement, which was recognized by
representatives of all the Yugoslav republics. S. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy: Chaos and
Dissolution after the Cold War, 1995, p.200.
47 The Arbitration Commission, as it was called, handed down fifteen Opinions on “major
legal questions” raised by the situation in Yugoslavia. Among others, it mentioned that
“Boundaries between Yugoslav republics may not be altered except by agreement freely
arrived at” and “Except where otherwise agreed, the former boundaries become frontiers
protected by international law”. A. Pellet, “The Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration
Committee”, European Journal for International Law, 1992, vol. 3, p.178-185.
48 Carington responded by putting the issue to a vote, in which all republics -including
Montenegro- agreed in dissolving Yugoslavia. However, after intense pressure from Serbia
Montenegrin President Momir Bulatović changed his position into opposing the dissolution.
L. Cohen, Broken Bonds, 1995, p.96.
49 Similar statements were made by Serbs who formed the SAO Western Slavonia and the
SAO of Eastern Slavonia after Croatia’s declaration of independence, on 8 October 1991.
These three Serb-controlled regions would combine into the Republic of Serbian Krajina
(RSK) on 19 December 1991, a short-lived state which functioned in these areas until
Operations “Flash” and “Storm” took place in May and August 1995 accordingly, resulting
in a mass exodus of the Serb population towards Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.
17
The Bosnian War and the end of the federation
The situation would be far more complex in Bosnia, as its mixed population of
Muslim Bosnians (Bosniaks), Serbs and Croats could hardly agree on the
republic’s future status. Bosniaks mainly supported Alija Izetbegović and his party
SDA, which aspired to create a unitary independent Bosnian state under Bosniak
control.50 Bosnian Serbs objected the idea however, and on a referendum they
held in November 1991 they voted in favor of remaining in a common state with
Serbia and Montenegro.51 To that end, they proclaimed a separate Serb Republic
(Republika Srpska) on 9 January 1992 which was considered unconstitutional by
the Bosnian government, which held another referendum for independence on 29
February-1 March 1992, boycotted in turn by Bosnian Serbs.52 The result was a
series of bitter wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (1991-1995), which cost
the lives of about 140,000 people and the displacement of 4 million others.53
As a consequence of this series of events, the use of the term secession
became gradually less popular and most would now describe what happened to
Yugoslavia as dissolution.54 This may indeed be the most proper term, although
Serbia and Montenegro insisted on using the Yugoslav name and insignia for
almost a decade after the Yugoslav Wars, claiming their common state reformed
into a state union (državna zajednica) was the legitimate successor to the former
socialist Yugoslavia. No matter the acceptance of this claim, eventually all former
Yugoslav republics became independent, as Montenegro also held a referendum
in May 2006, and by a small margin decided to leave the union with Serbia.55
50 The concept of a distinct Bosniak identity was favored during Austro-Hungarian rule as a
means to deter Serbian and Croatian irredentism and preserve the territorial integrity of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. This was at some extent also the reason for its resurgence in the
’80s, with the extra aim of preserving and protecting the rights of ethnic Bosnian Muslims.
51 In the meantime, Milošević and Tudjman held talks on how to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina
into Serb and Croat administered territories, which led though to no result.
52 According to the results published by the Bosnian government, the turnout was 63.4%,
and 99.7% voted in favor of independence. The result did not meet the two-thirds majority
requirement the government had set, and soon disagreement escalated into conflict.
53 Former Yugoslav Macedonia was the only republic that managed to leave the federation
without military conflict, only to be driven into a long diplomatic dispute with Greece over
its name and the use of national symbols.
54 For more on which term is more appropriate, see Annex II at the end of this paper.
55 Kosovo was the last administrative unit of the former Yugoslavia to declare its
independence on 17 February 2008, although the legality of this declaration has been
disputed as contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Therefore, Kosovo enjoys
partial recognition to this day and its status is considered to be pending.
18
Conclusion
Yugoslavia was conceived from its beginning as a political experiment, often seen
by its constituent political units as an umbrella state, through which different pre-
existing nations (later defined as its tribes: Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) could
materialize their -often diverging- objectives and defend themselves against
existent or perceived outer threats (such as Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria during
the Interwar period, or the Soviet Union during most of the Cold War).
Differences proved hard to bridge during the first Yugoslavia though, as
interethnic tensions and disagreements in relation to the state’s structure and
nature led to continuous political and social strife, which was eventually restricted
by King Alexander, but cost him his life in 1934.
The pattern of having one man holding the country together repeated
itself in post-war socialist Yugoslavia, as Josip Broz Tito managed to effectively
suppress nationalist tendencies by creating a multilateral political system, where
the Montenegrin, Slavomacedonian and later Bosniak identities were recognized
as distinct nations with their own home-republics. This helped to create and
preserve a delicate balance between the “older” ones, which were susceptible to
confrontation and continued to challenge the existence of a common Yugoslav
identity. Tito attempted to enhance the effectiveness of this system by delegating
more federal authorities to the republics, but this worked against Yugoslav unity
in the long-run, as it led to the formation of new political elites with national
characteristics and a vested interest in further promoting them, as a means to
obtain more power within their republic and the federation.
Consequently, governance on a federal level became rather complicated
and ineffective, while republic elites formed sharply divergent ideas concerning
the way they should react to developments within and outside the country and
confront the delegitimization of the regime. Under augmenting economic and
social pressure, the Party eventually split into a liberal faction (represented
mainly by Croatia and Slovenia) that supported a decentralized federation, and a
conservative faction (led by Serbia’s Milošević) that supported a centralized
federation under Serb control. These visions proved hard to reconcile though, and
the result was the violent end of the federation, which disintegrated into six new
independent states. To some extent, Europe faces today some of the questions
Yugoslavia did. In conditions of crisis, could or can its constituent parts agree
effectively on a common vision? Can they materialize the motto of unity in
diversity, and if so in what way? And last but not least, on which parties does it
mostly depend on to show the road ahead? Yugoslavia was put to the test twice
and failed. Let’s hope Europe will manage better the same challenge.
19
Annex I : Maps
Map 1. Yugoslav banovinas drawn by King Alexander (1929) and the Banovina of Croatia
according to the Cvetković-Maček agreement (purple line, 1939)
Source: http://history-of-macedonia.com/2013/10/10/vardarska-banovina-xartes-
diplomata/
Map 2. Yugoslavia dismembered after the Nazi invasion (April 1941)
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fascist_occupation_of_yugoslavia.png
20
Map 3. Front lines during the Yugoslav Wars (1991-1995),
shadows of purple represent areas under Yugoslav Army and later Serb control
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_war_in_Yugoslavia,_1993.png
Map 4. The successor states of Yugoslavia today
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations
#mediaviewer/File:Former_Yugoslavia_2006.svg
21
Annex II:
What’s the most proper term to describe what happened in Yugoslavia?
Was it dissolution, disintegration or a series of secessions?
The events that led to the end of the Yugoslav state under the form and extent it
had up to 1991 created a series of legal and political issues that still preoccupy its
successor states. One of these is whether the whole process was or should be
considered a dissolution of the federal state, its disintegration or a series of
successive secessions from it. The first acts of this process, namely the
declarations of independence by Croatia and Slovenia (25 June 1991) were
initially considered secessions from the common state, but later on -and
especially during the Conference on Yugoslavia (August 1991)- it became evident
that the republics of Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were also considering
independence, which they eventually declared on 8 September 1991 and 3 Μarch
1992 accordingly, both with significant complications.
Since four out of the six in total republics had seceded by spring 1992, the
alternate use of the terms “dissolution” and “disintegration” became gradually
more commonly accepted by the international media and academics to describe
the situation, although the remaining republics -namely Serbia and Montenegro-
insisted there still was a common state, which they named “Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia” (Republika Federativna Jugoslavija). Its authorities claimed it was the
legitimate successor to the former socialist Yugoslavia, therefore its membership
at the United Nations was to continue automatically. The Security Council
considered however that this view “was not widely accepted” and that Yugoslavia
had ceased to exist (Resolution 757/1992).56 To this end, the Security Council
recommended that the Federal Yugoslavia cease participation and apply as a new
member (Resolution 777/1992).
Despite the resolution, the offices and flag of Yugoslavia at the UN
headquarters continued to be used as before until 23 June 2000, as the UN
Secretariat allowed the mission to operate and accredited representatives of the
FRY to the SFRY mission. From that date on, the Security Council forbid the Serb
and Montenegrin representatives to participate meetings under the name
“Yugoslavia”, therefore forcing Serbia and Montenegro to apply as a new
member. The new Yugoslavia was eventually accepted as a new member by
Resolution 5512 of November 1st 2000, and shortly after all former republics
signed an agreement on the succession of the former Yugoslavia on 29 July 2001.
56 The original draft, prepared by the US Delegation asked the General Assembly to
confirm that “Yugoslavia was to be extinguished” from the UN, but the term was removed
in order to gain Russian support and the resolution remained open to interpretation.
22
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