The HYPA Building in Šabac

Valeska Bopp-Filimonov and Martin Jung, eds. <i>Kaleidoskop Rumänien. Einblicke in die aktuelle Vielfalt des interdisziplinären Faches Rumänistik</i>

This doctoral thesis focuses on the relationship between the state and art based on the commission and acquisition of artwork for the interior spaces of public institutions in the territory of the People's Republic (NR) and the Socialist Republic (SR) of Croatia from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. The works of art commissioned from contemporary artists or acquired throughout the 1950s and 1960s for the purpose of interior design of public, or social institutions, as they were called at the time, form a significant, but still largely under-researched, segment of Croatian art history. Commissions, tenders and acquisitions of art have a prominent role in the context of post-war reconstruction and the formation of a new state, as evidenced by the aesthetic quality of some of the completed works, and a vast number of works that have only partially been preserved today or segmentally dealt with in literature, museum documentation and archival material. The number and quality of the works offer themselves today as testimonies of a range of state initiatives in the period from the 1950s to the 1960s especially those that were launched in order to ensure that a percentage of investment construction funds in the entire Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FNRJ), that is, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) was used for the acquisition of artworks. In addition, the artistic quality also represents the artist's active consideration and commitment to the adoption of the so-called synthesis of all arts. This concept signified a unification of architecture, fine arts and design into a unique, total work of art. Since the artworks in this thesis primarily relate to paintings and sculptures commissioned or acquired for buildings of representative public characteristics, the research focused primarily on artistic furnishing of public interiors (governmental, cultural, sports and health institutions, military, tourist, catering and transportation facilities, and factories, company branches and banks) which have been analysed within the context of Yugoslav social ownership and a range of legal acts and by-laws passed in the researched period. The corpus of artworks on which the research was conducted includes a wide scope of media and different functions of buildings, and since the largest client was the state, i.e. state administration, institutes, associations, cooperatives, companies and other institutions financed from the state budget, the research topic and interpretation have been subject to a broad historical, cultural and artistic analysis. The first chapter (Introduction) provides an overview of previous research directly or indirectly linked to the topic of the thesis, the sample and methodology as well as research limitations, which have mostly been related to the issue of availability of archival documents. The chapter concludes with the research goal and hypotheses. The hypotheses are the following: 1) the acquisition and commission of artwork in Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia during the 1950s and 1960s were initiated and heavily regulated by the state; 2) the concept of artistic synthesis, or more specifically, the integration of architecture and fine arts, is advocated on all levels of government administration and state institutions that were responsible for culture and art; 3) cultural policy, ideological agendas of the state and the type of public institution impact the use of iconographic, formal and stylistic features of artworks and the level of the artistic synthesis; 4) due to their number, quality and socio-political circumstances the acquired and commissioned artworks for public interiors in the 1950s and 1960s represent an important segment in Croatian art history. The second chapter of the thesis (Socio-historical context and cultural policy of FNRJ/SFRJ and NR/SR of Croatia) presents the socio-historical and political context in Croatia and Yugoslavia between the Second World War and the 1970s. The chapter explains the definitions of ideology, culture and cultural policy that form the basis of the state's political decisions of the time as well as a political and cultural framework from within which the artworks have been analysed. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the cultural policies in the People's /Socialist Republic of Croatia and the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia or, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which includes the period of the so-called agitprop culture, an institutional implementation of cultural policy in the 1950s and 1960s and the reforms and censorship of the early 1970s. Within the legislative framework, the Yugoslav cultural policy objectives were to protect cultural heritage, incentivise the production of artworks through the organisation of events and otherwise, supervise and educate artists, experts and cultural workers, while maintaining control of the entire field of artistic and intellectual creativity. The development of cultural policies from the end of the Second World War to the early 1970s had several phases. In the first phase, from 1945 to 1951/1952, also called the period of "agitprop culture," the Yugoslav cultural policy exercised strict supervision and intense ideological pressure on culture. This could be felt in the production, acquisitions and commissions of artworks especially during 1948 and 1949, when the acquired art represented predetermined partisanship, particular ideas and connective affinities among all Yugoslav peoples. In other words, the socially engaged message of these works could be interpreted in a rather straightforward fashion. The second phase of Yugoslav cultural policy came after the temporary cessation of Agitprop (until the reactivation of the Ideology Committee). Although this phase saw a gradual liberalization, decentralization and bureaucratization of the artistic and cultural field of production, especially after the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (1952), in the 1950s and 1960s Yugoslav cultural policy was completely dependent on the state-party policy, which meant that state's cultural institutions exercised exclusive control of the field. This also meant there were coexisting tendencies – one was an increased openness towards expressions of high modernism - abstract and new post-war figurative forms, especially in public art and monuments, and the other was the retention of a clear ideological and memorial function of art, very often manifested as socialist realism. Following the early liberalization process and lowered ideological pressure, the early 1950s saw an individualization of artistic expression, and various works of art of moderate and radical modernist tendencies appeared on the art scene, which, despite numerous debates and resistance, were supported by the state through exhibitions, scholarship, public acquisition and commission. In the early 1960s, the highest echelons of the government denounced the dominant position of abstract art, which in 1962 and 1963 led to changes in the acquisition policy. The restricted freedom of artistic expression did not, however, continue in the second half of the decade when the state encouraged both institutionally and financially the development of art that could be characterised as supporting modernist tendencies. The third chapter of the thesis provides an overview of the post-war art in Croatia, or more specifically, an overview of artistic developments and debates, cultural and political upheavals and overviews of artistic forms, styles and movements, mostly socialist realism and abstract art, which marked the post-war art scene and which were particularly significant in the context of the commission and acquisition of artworks for the interior spaces of specific state institutions. The overview begins with the cultural and political context of post-war art and a series of important speeches by statesmen and artists on the role and position of art - from adherence to the ideological program of the state to the freedom of artistic creation. The chapter also gives an account of important exhibitions that served as testing grounds for the affirmation of new artistic expressions and events that spurred a number of critical reviews. These exhibitions include Archaic Surrealism (1952) by Antun Motika, Miljenko Stančić and Josip Vaništa (1952), American Experience (1953) by Edo Murtić, the exhibition of painters from the EXAT 51 group (1953), Salon 54 (1954) and the 1 st Didactic Exhibition: Abstract Art (1957). One segment of the chapter provides a brief overview and definitions of artistic forms, styles, movements and protagonists in post-war art in Croatia, while other focus more on the ideological aspects of socialist realism and abstract art and their significance concerning the specific geopolitical position of Yugoslavia. The fourth chapter, entitled The Synthesis of Fine Arts – the Development of the Concept and Its Influence on Art in Public Interiors in the 1950s and 1960s in Croatia, deals with the history of the concept "synthesis of fine arts" from the 19th century to the 1960s, particularly focusing on the post-war period in the international context and the Socialist Republic of Croatia. It was a complex idea that most often implied the unification of architecture, design and applied arts, painting and sculpture into a unique work of art. The chapter provides an explanation of the institutional framework of the concept of synthesis, and based on the research of archival material and the then-current periodicals it offers a reconstruction of the debates about the synthesis of all arts that took place during artists' meetings, at exhibitions and conferences and in magazines published in the period in question. It also highlights the significance of the synthesis of fine arts in the theoretical concept of gestalt theory. The fifth chapter, entitled Instruments of the Acquisition and Commission of Artworks for the Interiors of Public Institutions in the Territory of the People's/ Socialist Republic of Croatia in the 1950s and 1960s offers an unprecedentedly thorough reconstruction and explanation of the role of institutionalized cultural activities in the 1950s and 1960s (state administration, foundations, academies, state master workshops and professional associations and cooperatives) in the history of acquisition and commission policies regarding artworks in Yugoslavia and Croatia. The chapter goes on to explore in detail the state acquisition and commissioning process and the instruments, the impact of cultural policy on the acquisition and commission of artworks in the context of the expenditures for culture from the annual federal /republican budget, in the context of cultural and socio-political developments and legal acts and by-laws on the allocation of a percentage for artworks within investment construction project budgets. An important aspect of the chapter represents the investigation into the work of acquisition committees at the federal, republican and local levels of government, which often decided the fate of artists, the allocation of funds to numerous museum and gallery institutions, but also influenced the visual presentation of government in public buildings. The composition of the committees was also indicative of and depended on the country's cultural policy. In the post-war period, the committees were often made up of state administration employees, people imposed by the party, but also experts in culture such as art historians. In the early 1950s, they were largely made up of visual artists, and members of professional art associations who were sometimes accused of irregularities in following the procedures of purchasing and commissioning artworks. Apart from the association, the commissioning process was also greatly influenced by the State's Master Workshops as independent institutions which, due to considerable grants, favourable working conditions and the buildings they owned, were the only ones able to realize large orders, and thus influence the form and content of the works. Attempts to regulate the aforementioned instruments were the subject of numerous debates, as well as proposals for regulations, decrees and recommendations, especially during the 1950s. Considering the proliferation of proposals and legal acts in a single decade, artistic commissions and acquisitions for the interiors of public institutions embody a dynamic relationship between art and the state. The sixth and biggest chapter of the thesis offers a typology of artworks commissioned and acquired for public buildings of various functions. Sub-chapters contain an analysis and interpretation of a considerable number of diverse works of art situated in the interiors of administrative, military and educational institutions, cultural, and health institutions, catering establishments, shops, branches of banks and post offices, transport infrastructure facilities, factories, associations and societies, tourist architecture and residences of the President of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. Although the typology has been created based on several criteria, including the type of work, location, client and motivation for the integration of art and architecture, the research of archival and museum documentation, periodicals, in situ buildings and previous research is given in sub-chapters by the type of public institutions in order to combine in one place the similarities and differences of artworks situated in the interiors of particular institutions that depended on socio-political circumstances. Each function of the building is presented within its context, with numerous examples which represent an overview of acquisitions and commissions for the interior, an example selected for its aesthetic and sociopolitical significance, which provides an in-depth analysis and interpretation of the work. They are also presented through a comparative example in other Yugoslav republics. At the end of the chapter, there is a short list of examples divided according to the proposed typology. At the very end, in addition to the list of references, the doctoral dissertation includes appendices (various archival documents) and a list of works in the interiors of public institutions in Croatia in the 1950s and 1960s. The list contains known information about the location, author, year, type of work and technique, client, selected works of literature related to the work, and a photograph (if the work has been preserved or if there is photo documentation). Additionally, each work has a note related that usually includes information about the architect of the building, the collaborators and the degree of preservation of the work. The research carried out for this thesis has resulted in the first comprehensive analysis, contextualisation, interpretation and valorisation of artworks produced for public interiors in Croatia in the 1950s and 1960s. It also provides an insight into the role of the state as a client, and numerous aspects of cultural and acquisition policies that have not been addressed so far. New information is provided about numerous unknown or lesser-known works of painting and sculpture commissioned and acquired for the interiors of public institutions. Consequently, the results include the attribution and dating of ten artworks. The contribution of the research comes in the form of typology and a list of artworks in the interiors of public institutions that were commissioned or acquired in the 1950s and 1960s with some examples from the 1940s and 1970s). The systematization and interpretation of the material and the critical analysis of primary and secondary sources expand on the previous knowledge about the art of the 1950s and 1960s and fragmentarily researched works of art.

Nationalism is one of the basic and decisive factors that led to the disintegration of the multinational Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. In the lines of nationalism tied to the ethnic groups in this country, Serbian nationalism is the main flow affecting the formation, development and disintegration of Yugoslavia. Studying Serbian nationalism regarding those characteristics of formation context, goals, development process contributes to clarify not only the over-7 decades’ historical existence of this multinational country of Yugoslavia in the fields of politics, society, culture, but also the cause and nature of its disintegration in the 1990s through the blood ethnic wars. Therefore, Serbian nationalism is associated with the history of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, typically via its disintegration in 1991.

The 1974 constitutional reforms were the pinnacle of a well-developed system of self-management, democracy, and decentralisation. In this setting, local communities are becoming more influential, which allowed for greater citizen participation in local community-level political decision-making within the framework of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The aforementioned reforms not only delineated the roles, responsibilities, and standing of local communities, but also enacted a more comprehensive restructuring that encompassed the consolidation of labour and assets, autonomous interest groups, and the establishment of the system based on delegation. The importance of this type of organisation was increased when the Council of Local Communities was incorporated into the municipality's fundamental framework. Thus, the key study question becomes: Did local communities in the SFRY represent the basic unit of local self-government? With a focus on the phenomena of local self-management as the cornerstone of socialist democracy, this article examines the fundamental makeup, roles, and functions of local communities and local self-government in the SFRY. Although the 1974 reforms did not establish the local community for the first time, they did allow self-management in local communities to function as a tool for articulating both the community's and the individual's needs and interests. The strategies of governance and decision-making, local communities' relationships to other governmental levels, and their function in upholding democratic processes at the local level are all examined in this study. The examination of self-management in local communities and the role of the Council of Local Communities in the municipal governance framework are two unique aspects of this study. The processes that influenced the functioning of local communities inside the SFRY political system are also being examined, including economic and social aspects, as well as the effect of such a self-management system on modern Serbian local self-government.

This article examines the constitutional status and political evolution of Serbia's autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, following the adoption of the 1974 Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The constitution significantly decentralized power by granting the provinces extensive legislative, executive, and judicial authority, nearly equating them with the republics within the SFRY. The central issue explored is whether this constitutional arrangement represented a case of successful regional decentralization or, alternatively, created state fragments that weakened Serbia’s functionality within Yugoslavia. The article begins by discussing broader trends in European governance, highlighting how decentralization has often aimed to increase democratic participation and enhance local governance. However, excessive decentralization can also lead to fragmentation, undermining the cohesion of the state. This theoretical context frames the case of Serbia’s provinces, which, despite remaining formally part of Serbia, acquired considerable autonomy. The text explores how the provinces were integrated into the federal system, with their representatives having the ability to influence federal decisions, sometimes to the detriment of the central authority in Serbia. A key hypothesis is that the provinces’ increased autonomy contributed to the dysfunction of the Serbian republic within Yugoslavia. The 1974 Constitution allowed Vojvodina and Kosovo to develop semi-independent political systems, leading to tensions between these provinces and the central government in Belgrade. This arrangement weakened Serbia's ability to maintain a unified policy across its territory, especially when provincial interests diverged from those of the Serbian central authorities. The article draws comparisons with European examples of regional governance, such as Spain’s autonomous communities (Catalonia and the Basque Country) and Italy’s special-status regions (Sicily, Sardinia, and others). While these countries managed to maintain both regional autonomy and national cohesion, Serbia’s decentralized model under the 1974 Constitution is argued to have contributed to fragmentation. In particular, Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority increasingly sought further autonomy and even independence, leading to political crises that culminated in open conflict by the 1990s. Vojvodina, while less volatile, also experienced tensions over resource control and political representation. The analysis concludes that the extensive autonomy granted to Vojvodina and Kosovo under the 1974 Constitution functioned less as regional decentralization and more as state fragmentation, which ultimately undermined Serbia’s governance capacity. This fragmentation persisted through the 1980s and escalated into conflict during the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Post-Yugoslavia, Serbia's re-centralization of power in the 1990s further strained relations with its provinces, particularly Kosovo, which declared de facto independence following the 1999 NATO intervention. The article reflects on the long-term consequences of these constitutional arrangements, noting that Serbia's current governance model remains marked by tensions between central authority and regional aspirations. The case of Kosovo, which has de facto separated from Serbia, and the limited autonomy of Vojvodina, reflect the enduring challenges of balancing regional autonomy with national unity in post-Yugoslav Serbia.

With the collapse of the post-Cold War bipolar world order, religious institutions regained their public role in the socialist and people’s republic states of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Religion not only regained its social influence, but also once again became a decisive factor in shaping national identity. During the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, religion did not merely attempt to fill the ideological void left by the crisis of the socialist value system; it also actively contributed to the reconfiguration of national values, culture, identity and political discourse. This study examines the religious factors that contributed to the sacralisation of national identity; the consolidation of the ‘Us’, ‘Them’, and ‘Us versus Them’ narratives; and the justification of wartime violence during the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). In this context, ‘Us’ refers to the dominant religious/ethnic community of a given member republic, while ‘Them’ denotes the ethnic majority and their confessional affiliations living in other member republics. This mainly refers to the three largest religious/ethnic communities, Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims. The ‘Us versus Them’ confrontation escalated tensions and ultimately played a central role in the disintegration of the SFR of Yugoslavia. The study concludes that religion played a dual role: on the one hand, it supported the preservation of community identity and social cohesion; on the other hand, it fostered exclusion, the ethnicisation of loyalty, the political instrumentalisation of religion, and the legitimisation of war discourses on the other.

The "Borba" award, established in 1965 by the Belgrade daily newspaper Borba, became the most prestigious architectural accolade in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). It was introduced to promote outstanding architectural achievements across all the republics and recognize exceptional architectural works that contributed to the aesthetic, humane, and practical living conditions of the socialist state. Initially awarded at the republic level, top national projects were nominated for a federal award. In several instances the Federal Jury acknowledged the need for better representation of housing projects, though no separate award for this typology was ever introduced. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the "Borba" award continued in Serbia and Montenegro. In 1998, the award went to Milenija and Darko Marušić for their "two-face" housing block in Novi Sad. The authors used façade ceramics referencing traditional architecture of Vojvodina. Despite its eventual discontinuation due to financial constraints, the award represented one of the few pan-Yugoslav platforms where architectural ideas and achievements were debated, critiqued, and celebrated, leaving a significant mark on the architectural history of the region.

Making the Transition provides an analysis of processes of reform, reconstruction and restructuring in the criminal justice field in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the years since it completed a violent secession from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Across the three sectors of policing, courts and prisons, the work details the challenges facing Bosnia and Herzegovina and explores a range of internationally-sponsored reform initiatives. These three sectors are often examined independently of each other, but by analysing their development side by side Making the Transition is able to determine common challenges while establishing different logics and methods of international intervention. The book reflects the author's education in a number of disciplines (politics, history, criminology) and is a useful addition to the bookshelf of those with an interest in the mechanics of state-building and in the reconstruction of post-conflict states. About this book: 'Andy Aitchison succeeds in making a book that is big in insight out of what to many might seem like a small topic - the transformation (or not) of the criminal justice systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the dissolution of Yugoslavia. He writes with clarity and nuance about these changes in the context of more general themes of transitional justice in Europe and Southern Africa, and this superb historically, politically and theoretically informed book should be read by all those with an interest in the challenges and pitfalls of efforts to reform policing, court and prison processes.' Professor Mike Levi, Cardiff University 'The depth and breadth of Aitchison's sources are two of the book's greatest strengths, providing a broad but nuanced view of the social, economic, and political situation surrounding the reforms. [M]aking the Transition provides a wonderfully detailed description of the post-conflict criminal justice system of BiH. While the book may run short on analysis, it is highly useful providing a snapshot of a transitional justice system based on a vast amount of information, including first hand descriptions of observers and practitioners. As such, it serves as an important building block for those seeking to construct a geographically wide-ranging understanding of the issues and challenges involved in state-building and criminal justice reform in a post-conflict, post-authoritarian society.' Madalyn Wasilczuk in Journal of International Law and Politics, 2012, 1000 'Aitchison has written a well-researched and readable book that will be a useful source for scholars of Bi Hand criminal justice reform more broadly. [...] And he judiciously describes the different motivations of reforming agencies [...] As evidenced by the continuing central role of the justice sector in BiH politics this book [...] is highly relevant.' Valery Perry in Security and Human Rights 2012, 75 'Since the book gives a concise introduction to the historical context and important concepts and terms, it is not only for experts in the field of criminal law reform and reconstruction of states, rather it is also suitable also for readers who have not extensively dealt with these themes before' Eva Dinchel in Polizei Newsletter 2014 About the author Since 2006, Andy Aitchison has lectured at the University of Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science, where he now co-directs the MSc programme in Global Crime, Justice and Security. He holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University and has previously worked as a researcher for the UK Home Office and Cardiff University. His research interests focus on international participation in criminal justice reform in post-conflict environments and on the participation of police in war crimes.

The weakening of the SFRY (Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia) which was followed by its dissolution, had an impact on a wide range of issues, one of them being the degradation of the so called Serbo-Croatian language. Not only did the external political influences contribute to the dissolution of the SFRY, but they also play a part in the linguistic profiling of new standard varieties today. However, as the dissolution of Yugoslavia couldn't have been imagined without consequences for Serbs primarily, the transformation of the 'Serbo-Croatian' language into a series of new language norms-successors of the old ones, cannot take place without challenging the rights of the great number of Serbs who live outside of Serbia. These are the rights that primarily refer to the linguistic and social identity - therefore the national identity. The best illustration of this are the external influences in the domain of linguistic engineering today, and these influences can basically be divided into extensive (e. g. commercials, radio and TV programmes) and intensive (textbooks, handbooks etc). The aim of this study is the analysis of those different kinds of pressures put on the standard variety of the language of Serbs. From the domain of the extensive influences (commercials) there is an example of the instruction given on a tube of toothpaste (Vademecum laboratories, Perfection 5 - Schwarzkopf &amp; Henkel, Dusseldorf - Germany), and as an example of the intensive influences of this type, there is an American textbook (R. Alexander, E. Elias-Bursa} Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook, With Exercises and Basic Grammar, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006). Both of these language materials proved to be highly compatible when it comes to the characteristics that should become an integral part of the standard language variety of Serbs, and apparently only the Serbs who live in Serbia. Among the language characteristics which are 'typically Serbian' the most prominent are: ekavian dialect ('lepa deca', not: 'lijepa djeca'), the 'da + prezent' construction ('moram da citam', not: 'moram citati'), the prepositional form 'sa' ('sa limunom', not: 's limunom'), as well as many other characteristics like interrogative sentences beginning with da li ('Da li si student?', not 'Jesi li student?') etc. As it follows the newly formed political borders in the area of the former SFRY, the contemporary linguistic engineering has engaged itself in creation of the new standard language varieties, including the one (or should we say, primarily the one) that belongs to the Serbs. However, the Serbs don't have the need for the re-standardization of their language (which became widely familiar to the European community since the 17th century, and it underwent the process of standardization at the beginning of the 19th century owing to the work of Vuk Karadzic) after the dissolution of SFRY, especially if it would be carried out from the outside and not take into account all the entities of this nation, e. g. the Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro etc. Because it is those Serbs who have always contributed significantly to the culture, science, and the overall identity of the Serbs generally, doing an immense favor to the European and even the world culture, and science in general. That is why the European culture - if it seeks to remain multiethnic and democratic - and other cultures similar to her, must allow the Serbs to preserve their cultural and national identity, wherever they may live - and the best proof of this will be its attitude towards the standard language variety which was established by Serbs almost two centuries ago.

During almost the whole period of the East-West confrontation after the Second World War, Serbia, in many ways the dominant part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), enjoyed a respected and privileged status in the international community. This makes the development of its foreign relations, leading to the country being considered a ‘pariah state’ in the 1990s, the more puzzling. From today’s perspective the question arises how it could have come this far. Even more puzzling seems the fact that Serbia’s reputation has seen only modest improvements since its lowest points. The ends of several wars, the coming to power of different governments and the overturn of a regime have all presented opportunities for change. However, just as in the Orpheus myth, decision-makers have proved to be unable to stop looking back. The hiding of war criminals, the special relations with Republika Srpska (RS, the Serb-populated entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the dragging on of a solution to the Kosovo issue have all represented the emulation of old policies, even though it must have been clear to the governments in charge that such behavior will hardly help to improve Serbia’s image. Therefore, this chapter will engage in an analysis of Serbian foreign policy over more than three decades in an attempt to provide explanations.KeywordsForeign PolicyLiberal Democratic PartyJoint DepartureForeign Policy GoalParty ChiefThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia represented a community of six republics with socio-cultural, social and economical differences that increased over the decades, leading to disintegration of the state. Factors that led to the collapse of the state are numerous, such as cultural and religious differences, nationalism, structure and function of the state system, internal and external factors of disintegration, change in the world politics, different levels of economic development of the republics.The economic system of Yugoslavia was based on self-managing model, a hybrid of both capitalism and socialism, which was considered to be the most effective use of capital goods, increasing workforce productivity, distributing the income and creating a product competitive for the domestic and foreign markets. However, this system had tremendous disadvantages which in addition to the changes in the world market led to the state of recession, very high inflation, decrease in workforce productivity and competitiveness of the final products in the markets, eventually resulting in the collapse of the entire system and disintegration of Yugoslavia.

This paper explores the term “memory abuse” as an analytical framework to understanding politically constructed mnemonic tensions in the years preceding Yugoslavia's violent dissolution. Here, “memory abuse” represents an intersection between the literatures of memory and conflict studies and refers to the intentional manipulation of memory beyond an intangible threshold, past which violence inevitably results. Drawing on the typologies of collective and cultural memory by Aleida and Jan Assmann, I argue that the political mobilisation of both distant and recent memories in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the late 1980s to a significant degree contributed to the outbreak of war in the early 1990s, and contemporary political actors have perpetuated an abuse of memory that has limited reconciliatory outcomes in the region since the end of conflict. In reformulating the memories of, inter alia, the 1389 Battle of Kosovo and the atrocities of the Second World War to fit nationalist narratives, political actors across Yugoslavia's republics sought to profit from forced divisions that ultimately brought about the country's end.

The Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 1974 was a key document in shaping the political and legal system of the Federation. Formally based on the principles of decentralization, autonomy, the right to self-determination, and socialist self-management, this constitution was conceived as a guarantor of the equality of all Yugoslav peoples, republics, and provinces. However, practice has pointed out significant discrepancies between the declared norms and their implementation, making the Constitution nominal in key aspects. Self-management, as the foundation of the socialist order, was formally promoted as a mechanism for strengthening the role of workers and citizens in decision-making. However, the political dominance of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia limited its actual application, making it declarative and legally ineffective. Similarly, the right to self-determination, the decentralization of power, and the autonomy of the provinces were formally designed to ensure the stability of the federation, but, in the context of political realities, they often provoked legal and political conflicts. The paper deals with the key question: could the constitutional text have been the reason for the destabilization and disintegration of Yugoslavia, or did the inconsistencies arise from the (non)application and different interpretations of constitutional norms? Through the analysis of key provisions on the decentralization of power, autonomy of the provinces, the right to self-determination and self-management, as well as through the presentation of the views of prominent legal theorists, the paper examines the causes of legal uncertainty and political tensions that led to the destabilization of the federation.

This article is dedicated to the study of the process of proclaiming the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result of the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The author of this article focuses not so much on the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia, but specifically on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the most interesting examples of a post-Yugoslav state. The author emphasizes the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990, as well as the further work of the Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991. An important part of this article is the analysis of the secession of the Assembly of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its independent work. The reasons for the separation of the Serbian people into a separate independent Assembly in the fall of 1991 are explored, as well as the proclamation of the Republic of Srpska itself in January 1992. The methodology of this article is based on a systematic and interdisciplinary approach, which contributed to solving the tasks set. The work employs historical, comparative, and historical-genetic methods, as well as an institutional method that allowed for the study of the roles of the National Assemblies of BiH and RS and to assess their functioning and effectiveness. The novelty of the research lies in the special approach to studying the work of political institutions in BiH, which significantly influenced the entire political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time. The main conclusions of this research are the theses that Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and lacking a dominant ethnic group, was doomed to internal conflicts due to the diverse interests and aspirations of the Muslim (Bosniak), Serbian, and Croatian communities. Analyzing the end of 1991 and, above all, the illegal work of the Assembly of BiH and its decision to declare independence against the will of Serbian deputies, it can be concluded that this was the first illegal step taken by the Muslim-Croatian coalition. Constitutional provisions were violated, yet even today these events are presented only as facts and are not publicly examined as the primary and initial cause of the formation of a separate Assembly of the Serbian people and the Republic of Srpska as a whole, as well as all subsequent events on the political scene of BiH.

The article compares the careers of two men, Dobrica Ćosić and Vojislav Koštunica, who gained prominence as dissident intellectuals in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and later served as presidents of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After outlining the main features of each man's dissident career, the article traces how one aspect of each's thought – his conception of the Serbian national interest – evolved during his transition from intellectual to political engagement. While highlighting differences in Ćosić's and Koštunica's political careers, the article emphasises similarities in their national thought. In conclusion, it considers some general aspects of the dominant Serbian response to Yugoslavia's dissolution.