In Yugoslavia, all political problems are intimately linked with nationalism'. Discuss

‘In Yugoslavia, all political problems are intimately linked with nationalism’. Discuss

Yugoslavia has always been plagued by nationalist and religious divisions within its eventful history. Cultural divides in the area were evident for hundreds of years before the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, under the name of Yugoslavia in 1918. This centralization of the South Slavs was a strong national ideology of the Serbs, in contrast to the ideology of the Croats, who wanted a federal Yugoslavia. The Kingdom was destroyed after the Nazi invasion of 1941; a federal Yugoslavia emerged from the Second World War under the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and its Croatian leader Josip Broz Tito. Yugoslavia enjoyed relative stability during Tito’s rule before the country began to fragment after his death. Ethnically different groups within the Balkans were at first centralized and later decentralized as regional differences promoted change. It is therefore essential that each of the eras of Yugoslav history be taken into account when assessing the relation of the nationalist and political problems that occurred in Yugoslavia.

Early divisions were cut between the ethnic groups living within the area that came to be known as Yugoslavia. It was national ideology of the Serbs that contributed to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and eventually led to the First World War. (Pavkovic, The fragmentation of Yugoslavia: nationalism and war in the Balkans; p 25)

After the Habsburg Empire collapsed the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes emerged from the war; comprising of the kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia; Croatia being divided into Croatia proper, Slavonia, both under the control of the Hungarian Crown and Dalmatia.

National myths, religious rivalry and differences in language had created ethnic hatred between the groups. Serbs and Croats are historically divided by religion, Serbs being Orthodox, and the Croats being Roman Catholic. In Bosnia-Herzegovina Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims resided in a multi-ethnic community. Until 1918 and the creation of the common Yugoslavia there had been no history of any significant disturbances between the ethnic groups. The amalgamation of diverse religious and ethnic groups led to a volatile political situation from Yugoslavia’s creation. (Laver, Rowe & Williamson, Years of Division p 271) Since its creation Yugoslavia was under the dominance of the Serbs, the Monarchy was Serbian. The Croats did not agree with unification into Yugoslavia; Croat politicians became disruptive in defiance of the Serb dominance. Serbo-Croat dispute dominated Yugoslavia until 1939 when Croatia won autonomy.

The kingdom of Yugoslavia was destroyed after the Germans invaded in 1941. Resistance in Yugoslavia developed; the communist-led partisans became the largest source of opposition. The occupying forces were expelled from Yugoslavia in 1944. Tito ruled Yugoslavia dictatorially; Yugoslav industry was nationalized and a planned economy was developed. From 1948 right up to his death Tito didn’t have any serious rivalry in the communist party or the country at large. Yugoslavia in the 1950’s was more of a centralised state than in 1918. (Pavkovic; p 61) Throughout Tito’s strict rule, all ethnic tensions appear to have been repressed but pockets of nationalism and tensions between the ethnic cultures were still apparent. The attempt to direct Yugoslavia towards market socialism resulted in extremely high inflation and resulted in recession in 1962. Attempts to resolve the economic crisis led to the emergence of different inter-regional economic interests. Yugoslavia had developed a very uneven economy, with the northern republics being more prosperous than the underdeveloped south. The wealthier of the republics, mainly the Croatian and Slovenia leaders were not willing to allow their economic resources to be used to finance developing the poorer regions of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Resentment of the uneven economy appeared in the southern republics, they believed they had a right to a better share of the federal investment funds. Croatia and Slovenia felt that the Federation’s politics were exploiting their wealth in favour of the underdeveloped republics. Yugoslavia moved more towards decentralisation in the 1960’s. The 1963 Constitution promised to increase the powers of the republics at the expense of the federal government, appeasing Croatian secessionists who had been demanding a looser federation.

The ethnic Albanian demonstrations in Kosovo and western Macedonia campaigned for more equality for Kosovo. In 1968, Kosovo was given the responsibility for its own local economic, financial and social control. The movement to give Kosovo more power angered many Serbian and Montenegrins, who believed that the Serbs would become a minority to the Albanians. The political, economic and cultural unrest that Yugoslavia endured in the 1960s led to the revival of nationalism in Croatia, this uprising was dampened by Tito after university students held demonstrations in Croatia. Tito’s initial attempt to repress the nationalists failed, police and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

The 1974 constitution turned Yugoslavia into a semi-confederation. Self-management of all aspects on political, economic and social development was extended to all of the republics. The constitution gave status to the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, effectively making Serbia a federacy in itself. (Pavkovic; p 69) The federal government worked on a consensus basis so that no particular grouping could dominate. (Kinnell, ‘’Why Yugoslavia collapsed’,’ [http://archive.workersliberty.org/wlmags/wl57/contents.htm], September 1999)

It can be seen that the process of political fragmentation was already starting long before Tito’s death. Tito had addressed the desire within the Republics for a looser federation, perhaps in order to stop any sudden takeover by a dominant ethnic group.

The most significant evidence of nationalism playing a part in politics can be seen after Tito’s death and the events that led to the ethnic wars and resulted in the end of Yugoslavia.

After Tito's death in 1980 a "collective presidency" was established consisting of representatives of each of the six republics. The most significant evidence of nationalism playing a part in politics can be seen after Tito’s death and the events that led to the ethnic wars and resulted in the end of Yugoslavia. The Kosovan Albanian revolts of 1981 paved the way for the subsequent emergence of conflicting nationalisms. Attempts made by Republican leaders to adopt nationalism as a tool failed because consensus was not evident within the republics. (Laver, Rowe & Williamson; p279)

The early 1980s were burdened with the issue of centralization; political progress was hampered by the power vacuum that was created by Tito’s death. There was no longer any unity within the federal government and it wasn’t long before a divided power structure emerged within the federation. No politician had the strength of personality or the ability to recreate the union that Tito had established in the federation. Very few people during this period regarded themselves as Yugoslav, looking towards the republics as their nation. In none of the republics was this awakening of nationalism as intense as in Serbia. (Drapac, ‘The End of Yugoslavia‘Contemporary European History, 2 (2001), pp. 326)

The troublesome atmosphere that existed within the federation was fuelled by foreign debt, high inflation and unemployment. Economic dissatisfaction again stirred up the ethnic rivalries in Yugoslavia. Albania again encouraged discontent in Kosovo in 1981. The Kosovan Albanian demands for unification and equal rights in the federation led to violent demonstrations in Kosovo.

Perhaps the most distinctive connection with politics and nationalism in Yugoslavia is the events that eventually led to its destruction. Slobodan Milosevic stirred up the Serbian frustration that arose from the 1974 Constitution; the Serbian and Montenegrin population in Kosovo had become a minority to the rising number of Albanians. Milosevic used the simmering Serbian nationalism as a manipulative tool in his election campaign. In April 1987 he travelled to Kosovo to promote his Serbian nationalist agenda, exploiting a growing wave of Serbian nationalism in order to strengthen support for the reintegration of Kosovo and Vojvodina within Serbia and ultimately a centralized rule in the federation. Milosevic’s campaigning in Kosovo and to Serbian nationalism won him the control of the Serbian Communist Party in May 1987. Advocating the idea of a Greater Serbia, the conflicting nationalist policies of Croatia and Serbia had been provoked during Milosevic’s campaign. Serbs and Montenegrin residents of Kosovo protested in 1988, alleging harassment by the Albanian majority; Serbia used this as an excuse to abolished Kosovo’s’ autonomy the following year. Long protests began in Kosovo. Serbia soon began the repression of ethnic Albanian’s in Kosovo.

Croatian nationalism developed in opposition to the fear of Serbian expansionist policies and in support of decentralization within the federation. The Croatian policy of a decentralized federation came to be admired by the other republics.

In January 1989 Ante Marković was appointed as federal Prime Minister, he was unable to create unity within the federation, and the Republic leaders had doubts about his proposed reforms. The nationalist ideologies of the individual republics and ethnic groups were growing evermore intense. Serbian leader Slobodan Milosević soon undermined Marković’s proposals for an undivided Yugoslavia, a market economy and democratic rights.

As other Eastern European countries enjoyed the feeling of revolution created by the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia’s Communist government was open to scrutiny; motivation political change within the federal government was an antagonism to the heightened nationalist tensions. The feeling of revolution within Central and Eastern Europe intensified national ambitions of the federal republics. At the last Federal Party Congress in early 1990, the League of Communists renounced its role in the federation. The Communist party had provided mediation within the federation, providing a unity between the republics. Ethnic divisions within the party itself meant it was not able to reach the consensus needed to preside over the federation. The dissolution of the Communist party as a federal body created an upset of the internal balance within the federation. The survival of the federation relied on the interdependence of the Serbs and the Croats; the revival of the Serb idea of a united Serbia had created ethnic and political tensions between the republics. In the first multiparty elections held in 1990 strong anti-Communist feeling became apparent in Slovenia and Croatia, with strong Communist support in Serbia and Montenegro. (Laver, Rowe & Williamson; p282)

Slovenia, the least ‘Slav’ republic, had evolved from communism to democracy during the 1980’s. Strong feelings of national identity combined with the threat of Serbian nationalism soon led to Slovenia claiming the right to secede from the federation. Serbia blocked Slovenian plans to secede from the federation; it would jeopardize the process of centralization for the Serbs and would lead to Croatia asserting the right to independence. Milosevic gained the support of the large ethnic Serb minority in Croatia and persuaded them that they could also gain autonomy. Serbs in Croatia proclaimed an autonomous region of Krajina; in response the Croatian government formed its own army. In March 1990, the first fighting between Croats and Serbs created the catalyst for a series of ethnic wars inside the federation. In May 1991, a Croat was due to become the new Yugoslav Federal president under the collective presidency scheme, Serbian refusal to compromise and allow Croatia to take control of the federal presidency led Croatia and Slovenia to declare independence from the federation on 25th June 1991. (Laver, Rowe & Williamson; p284) Military confrontations between the federal army and republican forces in Slovenia lasted 14 days until European Union threats to impose economic sanctions against Serbia forced the withdrawal of the federal forces. The rise of nationalism in the later part of the decade encouraged Turkish and Albanian minorities in Macedonia to address nationalism. Macedonia declared independence from the federation in July 1991. Serbian and Croatian nationalist interests spread to Bosnia-Herzegovina; where Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims mixed in a multi-ethnic republic. The longstanding Serbo-Croat nationalist conflict was fuelled by the surfacing of Islamic nationalism in Bosnia. The Bosnian government had become fearful of Serb domination and set up a National Assembly. Croatian and Muslim proposals to declare sovereignty in Bosnia-Herzegovina were met with rejection from the Serb Democratic Party. In October 1991 at the Bosnian Assembly, the leader of the SDP announced a separate sovereign Serb Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Armed conflict soon started between the three national groups. Bosnian Muslims were purged from Serbian and Croatian areas of Bosnia.

Of the republics that had comprised Yugoslavia, only Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Vojvodina remained within the reconstituted federation of April 1992. The USA and EU started to direct their support towards the successor states; the Federal State of Yugoslavia was expelled from the United Nations in September 1992. (Laver, Rowe & Williamson; p285) Attempts made by Europe and the USA to negotiate peace in the Balkans were rejected by the Serbs. Serbian aggression in Bosnia was condemned by the Western powers; economic sanctions against Serbia were imposed in an effort to end the conflict. Bosnia remained unsettled until after NATO led air strikes on Serbian forces in 1995. Serbian domination in Bosnia persisted until the Dayton Peace Agreement of December 1995 split Bosnia in to distinctive Muslim/Croat and Serb areas. United Nation troops deployed in Bosnia held together the fragile peace and the UN sanctions against Serbia were lifted.

Milosevic’s government was the target of protests after his attempts to manipulate election results in 1996. The ongoing crisis in Kosovo became more apparent as the ethnic Albanian population suffered Serbian repression. After NATO launched a bombing campaign against the Serbs, Milosevic finally withdrew his troops from Kosovo. As the Serbian economy had started to collapse under the severe sanctions imposed, Slobodan Milosevic’s government was ousted in a mass revolutionary movement from within Serbia. (Paul Wood; ‘The downfall of Milosevic’, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1204857.stm], April 2001)

The ‘Chicken and the Egg’ approach of whether rising nationalism led to the political problems or that it was the lack of consensus within the federal government that was responsible for the revival of nationalist ideologies in the late 1980’s can be taken. The rising nationalist support within the federation was then stirred up by politicians in a campaign to gain electoral support. Slobodan Milosevic was quick to exploit the instability of the federation, promoting Serbian nationalism. It can then be concluded that political and economic problems and the escalation of nationalism within the federation after Tito’s death combined to result in the destruction of the unity that had been sustained under his rule. The promotion of Serbian nationalism provided the catalyst for nationalism within the other Republics. This rising nationalism when combined with the criticisms and lack of consensus between the leaders of the republics and within the federal government as a whole eventually led to Yugoslavia’s fragmentation.

Bibliography

Books

LAVER, J., ROWE, C., & WILLIAMSON, D., Years of Division: Europe Since 1945,

Hodder & Stoughton, 1999

PAVKOVIC, A., The fragmentation of Yugoslavia: Nationalism and War in the Balkans (second edition), Macmillan Press Ltd, 2000.

SINGLETON, F., Twentieth-century Yugoslavia, Macmillan, 1976.

VICKERS, M., The Albanians: a modern history (revised edition), I. B. Tauris, 1997

Electronic Sources

KINNELL, M., ’Why Yugoslavia collapsed’ Workers' Liberty, Issue 57, 1999. Online journal, [http://archive.workersliberty.org/wlmags/wl57/contents.htm],

DRAPAC, V., ‘The End of Yugoslavia’, Contemporary European History, Vol. 10, Issue 2, 2001. Online journal, [http://www.journals.cambridge.org]

WOOD, P., ‘The downfall of Milosevic’, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1204857.stm], April 2001.

BBC News, Kate Adie reports on opposition protests, 5th December 1996.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/events2000/yugo_election/adie_crackdown.ram]

Other Sources

NOBLE, Capt. S. J. W., Winter Warriors: The 2nd Battalion the Light Infantry, Operation-Grapple & Operation Resolute, Bosnia. Regimental magazine published by serving UN troops in Bosnia. 1996.

WYKEHAM, Lt Col P.J., ‘Bosnia – Op Grapple’ , Journal Of The Light Infantry, Issue 63, (Spring 1996), pp. 25 – 46