Breakup Of Yugoslavia Research Articles

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence, written by Iva Vukušić

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence, written by Iva Vukušić

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence, written by Iva Vukušić

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence, written by Iva Vukušić

Depopulation and deep aging: the former Yugoslav and Western Balkans space between the second demographic transition and emigration

The article introduces the tentative concept of deep aging – a label used for a situation when the overall ageing effects of the second demographic transition, due to fertility below replacement level, are topped by the excessive emigration of the fertile contingent (additional loss of active population). Deep ageing thus accelerates population decline. But the loss of fertile contingent may affect the total fertility rates and its apparent rise (TFR). Here, the tempo effect of fertility plays the decisive role. The article first assesses the demographic change in the European macroregions in the period after the fall of the Iron Curtain (1990–2020). It then analyses the changes in the area of former Yugoslavia to assess the extent of population change in the last intercensal period, 2011–2022. Building on the previous research of population loss and migration flows after the break-up of Yugoslavia, the overall population change in the region is being assessed. It is also shown that tempo distortion of fertility rates considerably affects the realistic level of fertility and that approximate completed fertility rates fell less dramatically. Since the migration data are less reliable, the analysis of intercensal change was applied to assess the migration losses across the ex-Yugoslav space. To assess the extent of deep ageing, the intercensal projection of fertile contingent was introduced. The stage of deep ageing is the most pronounced in Croatia and Serbia, especially at the younger fertile group, while the overall loss of fertile population is profound and will certainly affect the further future decrease in population. Similarly difficult demographic situation is in other post-Yugoslav countries, where only Slovenia has not yet slid into the stage of deep ageing.

Looking into Themselves. Women Documenting Wars and Their Aftermath

Throughout the twentieth century, several women artists have photographically interpreted not only the destruction during World War II, the Yugoslav Wars of the first half of the 1990s, and/or their aftermaths, but other types of crises since the period of World War I as well. These interpretations warrant discussion in the context of a more comprehensive representation of the women’s gaze. By creating private photo albums at the beginning of the century, capturing life in internment camps and depicting the everyday aspects of existence during World War II, and extending into contemporary re-evaluations of politics and memory production influenced by the breakup of Yugoslavia, women artists chronicle the wartime reality and its consequences, which is in stark contrast to the prevailing belief that women often operated within the safety of their comfort zone. Through their photographic practice, they illuminate the gaps in history and the effects of fabricating certain segments of it, and respond by capturing images that transition from private, intimate settings to public discourse.

Disaster Management in the Western Balkans Territory – Condition Analysis and Conceptualisation of the Cross-Border Cooperation Model

Abstract The main objective of the paper is analysis and proposal of a concept for establishing an efficient system for disaster management in the Western Balkan countries. After the breakup of Yugoslavia (1992), there has been no effective system for managing emergency situations, while cross-border cooperation in this respect does not exist at all. The paper provides an overview of the situation in the field of emergency and crisis management in five countries of the region and a concept of promotion and cross-border cooperation in this field. The results of the research show that no country in the region has adequate emergency and disaster management system and that, regardless of the negative experiences, an efficient multilateral cooperation system has not been established so far in this field (there is neither regulatory framework nor proposals for the model of organization and for the procedures or technical mechanisms that would make the above possible). Therefore, the concept of establishing the Regional Center for Disaster Management in the Western Balkans territory (RCDM-WB) is proposed as a first step in handling disaster situations that arise from natural phenomena or technical and technological accidents. This is the first scientifically developed proposal of this kind for the above-mentioned region.

The Aesthetics of Responsibility in the Latest Post-Yugoslav Theatre Projects

Theatre in the countries that emerged after the break-up of Yugoslavia is one of those areas of contemporary culture that respond very quickly to social and political issues, ongoing discourses in the public space and challenges facing the community and the individual. Directors coming from Serbia, but operating in many areas of the region, such as András Urbán and Zlatko Paković, emphasise in their subversive theatrical treatises that at the root of the limitations of ethical, moral and intellectual freedom lies responsibility as a constant consciousness of determinism expressed in the fact that there are no events without consequences. They problematise the personal responsibility of the author, but also the responsibility of the audience and actors, and explore the theatrical situation (the relationship between actors and audience and the actor-character relationship). It turns out that unmasking criticism aimed at preventing the reproduction of the status quo produces discomfort among the audience (the performances based on Danilo Kiš’s prose and in collaboration with Jeton Neziraj are specifically pointed out here).

Identity engineering of post-Yugoslav countercultural transculturalism

The subject of the paper is post-Yugoslav countercultural identity engineering as an ideological construct of left-liberal Euro-Atlantic totalitarianism. The author studies the subject through the analysis of a model of countercultural action directed against the basic identifiers of Serbian cultural identity - Svetosavlje as the Othodox Cristians philosophy of life derived from the teaching of Saint Sava, whose spiritual creation is a centuries-oldvalue system, and the Cyrillic script of the Serbian language through which the Serbian people communicate the Saint Sava worldview. The aim of the research is to understand and explain the way of thinking and action of neoliberal Euro-Atlantic totalitarianism in the area of the former Yugoslavia based on theoretical sources, analysis of empirical data, media texts, internet presentations and weblogs. The results of the historical-comparative analysis of Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav identity engineering show that a key role in the process is played by the hybrid model ?double of the state? which assumes the role of a cultural hegemon. Model operates on the principle of ?divide and rule? by antagonizing existing political and cultural identities to impose a set of beliefs about gender identity with devastating consequences for society as a whole. For expansion of left-liberal Euro-Atlantic totalitarianism to the poscommunist Europe after the breakup of Yugoslavia, the ?double of the state? model was necessary in order to remove all the subversive contents of cultural identity. This especially refers to the key identifiers of the Serbian cultural identity, which the comunist - ateist ideology of Yugoslavia perceived as a threat due to the alleged ?Greater Serbian hegemony and nationalism?, and has already pushed it out of public life to a significant extent. Thus, the post -Yugoslav left-liberal ideology found its natural ally in neoliberal Euro-Atlantic countercultural transculturalism.

The Changing Nature of Instrumental Music and Musicians in Folk Dance Ensembles

The paper presents the role of the instrumental music and musicians in folk dance ensembles in Slovenia, and examines different influences on the shaping of its musical image. It focuses on two milestones that have significantly influenced the work of folk dance ensembles: the beginning of organized educational activities in the early 1970s, and the impact of socio-political changes caused by the breakup of Yugoslavia and Slovenia’s independence in 1991.

The foundation of the independent Republic of Macedonia – A decade of international recognition (1991–2001)

The process of the disintegration of the multinational Yugoslav federation at the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s had a strong impact on the process of the constitution of an independent Macedonian state. In those years, the Yugoslav Federation underwent a transition from the one-party rule of the Union of Communists to the establishment of a pluralistic multi-party political system. After the legalization of the possibility to create new political parties in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, various parties and associations emerged, which brought great diversity to the political life of the republic and laid the foundations of party pluralism in it. The grouping of the parties is based on the attitude towards the future development of Yugoslavia, which divides them into “pro-Yugoslav” and “national”. Along with the Macedonian national parties, political parties and associations on a national and ethno-religious basis are being created in the SR Macedonia. The difficulties in the Republic of Macedonia started parallel to the process of declaring its independence and especially after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Thus, in the early 90s, after the collapse of the multinational federation and the declaration of independence of some of its republics, such as Slovenia and Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia faced serious problems in its own state. Internally - the final independence of the state and liberation from the Yugoslav People's Army, and externally - its international recognition. And while the last decade of the 20th century was mainly related to the international recognition of the Republic of Macedonia, the first decade of the 21st century saw the country face serious international problems and confrontations mainly between the Macedonian and Albanian ethnic groups in the country, as well as the dilemma of further and steps towards membership in the Euro-Atlantic structures - in the EU and NATO.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and the establishment of the AVNOY Yugoslavia (1943-1945)

Many states, like Yugoslavia, emerged from conflicting historical currents. A critical examination of the socio-historical multi-directional flows after the chaotic April War of 1941 and the rapid disintegration of monarchical Yugoslavia also encompasses rational knowledge of opposing political and national perspectives dating back to 1918 when it was established, with its problematic events between the two World Wars, their causes, and consequences. The turbulent interwar legacy and the failure to address acute problems within the state influenced the dramatic situation and conflicts in occupied Yugoslavia, leading to polarization, collaboration, and alignments. The state of war is a complex crisis situation. The breakup of Yugoslavia was met with divided opinions on whether (and if so, how and on what basis) to reestablish the state. Each Yugoslavia (the „old” and the „new”) also represented a „new constitutional concept of the relationship between its major nations/political groups” (Dejan Jović). The successful antifascist liberation struggle from 1941 to 1945 was primarily led by the partisan movement, with the dominant role of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY). Vladimir Dedijer wrote that in 1941, a revolutionary war began, and „no one dreamed what its nature would be.” It was a civil war, destroying the idea that this state could be rebuilt in the form it took in 1918. It was a complex war („a war of all against all”) with numerous burdens (national, religious, social, historical). Anti-Yugoslav forces were long more numerous than pro-Yugoslav forces, which eventually triumphed. The speech of Yugoslav antifascism is most symbolically recognizable by the phrase: „Death to fascism – freedom to the people,” and „brotherhood and unity.” By the decision on the federal organization of the state at the Second Session of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) in Jajce in 1943, the foundational pillar of the previous Yugoslavia—state and national unitarism—was denied. AVNOJ's decisions were of a framework and principle nature. The federation was established, but until the end, the forms of all its units related to their borders and the structure of alliance members („unitary or complex”) were not fully defined. The emergence of the federal Bosnia and Herzegovina was accompanied by harmonization at the top of the CPY and the People's Liberation Movement. The specificity of the „AVNOJ formula” was also reflected in the fact that in 1943, a federal state was formed, and in 1944, the members of the federation (republics). At that time, their provincial antifascist councils were constituted as the highest legislative and executive representative bodies. Many accompanying issues addressed in the decisions in Jajce on the structure of Yugoslavia remained under detailed consideration and clarification by the state-party leadership and AVNOJ in 1945. These issues have continued to be the subject of more detailed review and analysis in the context of the developments in historiography and have been exposed to considerations in a broader context. They have been reinterpreted, their facts have been analyzed, and there have been „in-depth” searches for more complete, multiperspective answers. The development of historiography is „marked by controversy.” Research into the formation of the „new” Yugoslavia should not be conducted with ideological biases and prejudices but should consider new experiences present in the flow of time and in the minds of contemporaries, including historians, as „children of their time.” Relevant historical contents must be separated from „declarative proclamations, pathos statements, ceremonial-protocol stances.” In a simplified understanding of the past, „everything appears simple and linear.” It is necessary to interpret historical phenomena and processes in a multidimensional, layered, and grounded manner.

Iva Vukušić: Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia. State Connections and Patterns of Violence

Iva Vukušić: <i>Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia. State Connections and Patterns of Violence</i>

The transformations of the international system and their impact on cultural specifics (a case study of the former Yugoslavia as a model)

The transformations of the international system led to the creation of an arena in which ethnic and sectarian conflicts usually take place, and governments usually try to ignore or suppress the demands of internal ethnic and religious groups when necessary, and these demands differ from one political to another in the break-up of Yugoslavia is depicted as the beginning of the emergence of the deconstruction of cultural characteristics., because countries with racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to interfere than others, was the pretext of the Americans in the early 1990s. Since the twentieth century, as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of the nation-state under the pretext of (protecting minorities from persecution) and as a result achieving its global goals of controlling and dominating the world and spreading ideas and propositions that are consistent with these practical developments,to infiltrate the borderless countries bordered by the fragmentation of the nation-state and the fueling of ethnic and racial conflicts.

Političke i bezbjednosne dimenzije u rješavanju Kosovsko-Sjevernomakedonske demarkacije granice

Drawing borders in post-conflict situations is a challenging undertaking between two or more actors that often ends up in arbitration. In some cases, it produces a political confrontation that may turn into a cycle of violence. This article sheds light on the dynamics of political and security challenges, the interaction of the foreign actors and the role of the local government and civic activism in resolving disputes related to the Kosovo-Macedonia border. This article focuses on the obstacles that came from the non-definition of the status of Kosovo and the popular and institutional dissatisfaction regarding the agreement on the border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), bypassing Kosovo and UNMIK from decisionmaking. Secondly, it asks whether these two sovereign countries have had the right to decide on the part of the border that separates Kosovo and Macedonia and was it an appropriate moment to reach an agreement on the border in tense situation between Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia? If so, why was Kosovo not included in the final stage of implementation of the agreement? Third, in unclear situation with Kosovo political status, which of the parties to the agreement would be able undertake practical ground activity, that of placing the border stones and which kind of writings will take place on them: „Serbia” and „Macedonia”, or „Kosovo” and „Macedonia”? Could the implementation of the agreement be postponed, at least for the part that divided Kosovo and Macedonia, and completed instead after the final status of Kosovo was determined? We argue that political momentum between Kosovo-Macedonia-Serbia triangle did not favor achieve such sensitive agreement between newly created states of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and FYROM. Excluding Kosovo provisional institutions and UN civil administration from the border agreement was a mistake that produced instability, hostility and additional bitterness in interethnic relations at the early stages, followed by the status quo. And, finally, including Kosovo as a partner in implementing the border issue paved the way for interstate cooperation that led to Macedonia’s recognition of Kosovo, which erupt a short wave of anti-Macedonian rhetoric by both, Serbian political leadership and people protests. The evidence used for the arguments presented were positivists qualitative methods such as social survey and official statistics. The principle of uti possidetis was applied on the border disputes in the period after the breakup of Yugoslavia, and also in the case of the demarcation of the border between Kosovo and the states of Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania, as the best solution because it lies in „its primary aim of securing respect for the territorial boundaries at the moment when independence is achieved”. In drawing conclusions related to the article topic, I used a combined methodology of literature research, comparative analyses and positivist qualitative methods such as social surveys through structured questionnaires, official statistics, interviewing the bearers of the institutions of the time and members of the technical commission for border demarcation. Archive of Kosovo Parliament and personal files also became important sources.

A Federal Nightmare: The People’s Republic of China and the Breakup of Yugoslavia

This paper explores how the breakup of Yugoslavia was interpreted, commented on, and used for internal and international political purposes in China, with a focus on the role played by key concepts such as “federalism” and “sovereignty” in consolidating the Chinese interpretation of those dramatic events, and ultimately in shaping the CCP’s pro-Milošević stance in the dramatic unfolding of the conflict in Kosovo. In particular, the preoccupation with separatism and international humanitarian intervention, and the interpretation of the Yugoslav dissolution as a federal failure by the Chinese elite, help link the global event (the collapse of the Balkan political order) to the local Chinese debate on centralization and decentralization, an issue that had been polarizing the CCP since the launch of the “reform and opening” agenda by Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s.

The Serbian and Yugoslav Reception of Werner Sombart (1895-2022)

Following the publication of voluminous works such as Socialism and the Social Movement, German Economic Life in the 19th Century and Modern Capitalism, Werner Sombart (1863-1941) became one of the most prominent, most widely read and most translated European intellectuals of the first half of the 20th century. Sombart became very popular not only in Germany but also in other countries in Europe and beyond (particularly in Italy and Japan). As Reiner Grundmann and Nico Stehr have observed, the period after Sombart’s death in 1941 was marked by great changes in European and global sociological and economic thought. Consequently, Sombart was gradually marginalized and removed from the ranks of mainstream authors. Although he was held in high regard by, among others, Fernand Braudel and Joseph Schumpeter, Sombart’s work was neglected due to the paradigm changes in economics and sociology, with priority given to authors who based their research on traditions opposed to German historicism and Marxism.&#x0D; The history of this author’s reception among the Serbian and Yugoslav public is characterized by disontinuity and, compared to Max Weber and Karl Marx, insufficient comprehensiveness in its approach. It can be argued that the Serbian academic community has followed the trends in European scholarship from the late 19th century to the present day. In all analyses to date, Werner Sombart’s extensive oeuvre has been reduced to certain aspects (capitalism, social pluralism, a critique of his conceptions).&#x0D; Werner Sombart had a significant presence up until 1941. Even in these circumstances Serbian scholars, unlike Croatian ones, devoted more attention to ideas about the twilight and crisis of capitalism, the relationship between the state and the economy, the role of luxury and spending by the rich in the genesis of modern economic life. During communism Sombart’s work was completely marginalized due to ideological factors, a change of paradigm and a negative perception of his role in Germany’s political life. Also, Serbian sociology and social sciences more generally followed the trend of according great recognition to Max Weber, which, until the collapse of communism, had been limited, but following the breakup of Yugoslavia and the beginning of transition, increasingly overt and widespread, replacing the absolute dominance of the Marxist paradigm.&#x0D; And while Sombart has been completely neglected by the Croatian public, in Serbia there has been a revival of interest thanks to the recent translations of the study Luxury and Capitalism (2011) and the wartime pamphlet Traders and Heroes (2018). New research has drawn attention not only to the geopolitical aspects of Sombart’s thought, but also to his wartime engagement and the genesis of his ideas, which can be situated within the traditions of reactionary modernism.

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence By Iva Vukušić (Routledge, 2023, 230 pp. £120 hbk)

Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence By Iva Vukušić (Routledge, 2023, 230 pp. £120 hbk)

Review: Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence (Iva Vukušić)

Review: Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia: State Connections and Patterns of Violence (Iva Vukušić)

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and its cooperation with Yugoslavian Academies of Sciences and Arts (1938–1992)

The paper presents a brief overlook of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and stance of Slovenian researchers towards Yugoslavian cultural policy. Slovenian scientists defended the independent status of their institutions, including the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and therefore opposed policies that would lead to the unification of Yugoslav institutions. In-depth cooperation between Yugoslav academies began after the Second World War, when the academies had their own research institutes. Initially, the cooperation was financed by the federal government, whereas with introduction of self-management financial burden was placed on academies themselves. In the late 1980s, the social crisis consumed the relations between the academies, which retained only formal contacts that were suspended after the breakup of Yugoslavia

The Breakup of Yugoslavia in the Research and Political Discourses of Russia and Serbia

The breakup of Yugoslavia has become one of the key events of the postbipolar world order and has occupied a special place in the discourse in both politicians of Serbia and Russia. However, interpretations of the crisis, its causes and main driving forces, as well as its use as a reference object in contemporary national and political discourse differ significantly in Serbia and Russia. One of the important subjects is that in both countries, at the level of both discourses, there is a convergence of radical versions, and in the changing structure of European international relations, the role of an external factor in the tragedy of disintegration acquires a special sound. In this article, a discourse analysis of narratives of the Yugoslav crisis in academic and political discourse in a cross-country perspective is conducted using a social constructivist approach. The study seeks to deconstruct the images of the “guilty ones” in the Yugoslav crisis and to consider the features of using peculiarities of the crisis image in contemporary political discourse. It explores how the formal discourse of academics further influenced the discourse of politicians in the Russian and Serbian cases.

Yugofuturistic Performing of History: Demythologizing Kingdom of Heaven (Nebesko Carstvo)

The war which caused the breakup of Yugoslavia and its transition from socialism to capitalism in newly-established states, oriented the region towards a “rebirth” of nationalistically defined values. In spite of the exclusion of the narrative about Yugoslavism from official discourse, it continues to influence the lives and co-habitation of residents in nationalist states established on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. This is also precisely where the potential for a vital political stance can be found. The text, by choosing to analyze Kingdom of Heaven, a theatre performance, as an example, offers a premise that Yugofuturism in theatre – in the sense of an emancipatory potential of Yugoslav heritage – is manifested by critically demythologizing nationalist history and the construct of the ethno-nationalist identity that is based on it.