YEARNING for a BETTER LIFE Yugonostalgia Amongst the Post-Yugoslav Generation of the Organisation of Josip Broz Tito, Pula
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Elena Crnalic YEARNING FOR A BETTER LIFE Yugonostalgia amongst the post-Yugoslav generation of the organisation of Josip Broz Tito, Pula Faculty of Social Sciences Master’s Thesis May, 2020 ABSTRACT Elena Crnalic: Yearning for a better life: Yugonostalgia amongst the post-Yugoslav generation of the organisation of Josip Broz Tito, Pula Master’s Thesis Tampere University MDP in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research May 2020 The studies of nostalgia, especially nostalgia for socialism has continually been growing since the break-up of major Socialist powers in Europe. The abrupt transition from socialism to democracy, left many of its citizens yearning and remembering their own life under socialism, in turn, creating a post- socialist nostalgia. Yugonostalgia, known as nostalgia for the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, developed over the years, continually being present amongst the countries of former Yugoslavia, through art, pop culture, museums, relics and consumerism. Academic research on this topic continues to grow. The aim of this study is to understand and explore the notion of Yugonostalgia amongst the post- Yugoslav generation in Croatia. The research combines collective memory, youth studies and peace and conflict research to gain an insight on the reasons for the presence of Yugonostalgia amongst the post-Yugoslav generation and what such can tell about the issues young people are facing in Croatia, as a post-conflict country. The study group chosen for this research are the members of the organisation of Josip Broz Tito in Pula, Croatia. The organisation focuses primarily in keeping the memory of Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito alive. The group was chosen due to their knowledge and understanding of the notion of Yugonostalgia, Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito. Five (5) members of the organisation were selected and interviewed using qualitative semi-structured interviews. The data collected was transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis. Even though not explicitly mentioned, the data showcased a presence of Yugonostalgia amongst the participants. Participants saw the worker’s rights, youth socialisation and the freedom of speech, amongst others, to have had more importance in Yugoslavia. The role of family and close social circles in learning about Yugoslavia was proven to be of great importance, which has allowed the participants to compare the past to the preset, in turn, labelling the life under Yugoslavia as of ‘better’ quality. The nostalgia for the past revealed the fear of the future and the mistrust in the current governing body in Croatia. Academic literature and the results of this study potentially point out to the ongoing feelings of Yugonostalgia amongst the youth of the organisation of Josip Broz Tito, which has in turn, showcased the ongoing issues Croatia is facing as a post-conflict state, 25 years after the end of the conflict. In order to gain a better insight on the issues of youth in Croatia, as well as the presence of Yugonostalgia, further research with a larger sample size would be needed. Keywords: Yugonostalgia, nostalgia, collective memory, memory studies, youth studies, post-conflict society, Croatia, Josip Broz Tito, socialism The originality of this thesis has been checked using the Turnitin OriginalityCheck service. ii Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to thank the organisation of Josip Broz Tito and its members for taking an interest towards my research and for welcoming me to their meetings. Without you, this research could not have been possible. Secondly, a big thanks goes out to my supervisor Dr. Anitta Kynsilehto for providing me with guidance throughout this journey. I am forever grateful. I would also like to thank Dr. James Riding for being so enthusiastic about my research and providing me with various materials to assist me with writing this thesis. Lastly, a huge thank you goes out to my partner, my peers and family, who have continuously provided me with their words of encouragement. iii List of acronyms EU = European Union SFRY = Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia USSR = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics HDZ = Croatian Democratic Union UNDP = United Nations Development Programme Tito = Josip Broz Tito iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………………….….…………………ii Acknowledgments….…………………………………………………………………………iii List of acronyms………………………………………………...….…..…...….......................iv 1. Introduction ……………………..…………………………………....…….................1 2. Background/ theoretical framework…………………………………………………...6 2.1 Collective memory………………………………………………………………...6 2.1.2 Collective memory in a post-conflict society………………………………..8 2.1.3 Youth studies, generations and collective memory……………………….....9 2.2 Developing nostalgia……………………………………………………………..11 2.2.1 Nostalgia, society and how do we remember the past? …………………....12 2.2.2 Svetlana Boym’s reflective and restorative nostalgia……………………...14 2.2.3 Nostalgia for socialism and Ostalgie………………………………………16 2.3 Concluding thoughts……………………………………………………………..19 3. Yugonostalgia…………………………………………………………………………20 3.1 The origins and the development of Yugonostalgia……………………………..21 3.2 Josip Broz Tito, Titoism and Titostalgia………………………………………. 24 3.3 Presence of Yugonostalgia………………………………………………………25 3.4 Concluding thoughts…………………………………………………………….31 4. Methodology………………………………………………………………………….32 4.1 Study group……………………………………………………………………...31 4.1.1 The organisation of Josip Broz Tito……………………………………….33 4.2 Study participants………………………………………………………………..34 4.3 Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews…………………………………35 4.4 Thematic analysis………………………………………………………………...36 4.4.1 Analysing the data…………………………………………………………37 4.5 Concluding thoughts……………………………………………………………..38 5. Results ………………………………………………………………………………...39 5.1 Presence of Yugonostalgia……………………………………………………….39 5.1.1 Nostalgia, Yugonostalgia and its presence in Istria………………………..39 5.1.2 Appraisal of Tito…………………………………………………………...41 5.1.3 Culture (music, film, literature)……………………………………………42 v 5.1.4 Freedom of speech and censorship………………………………………...43 5.2 Collective memory and societal influence……………………………………….44 5.2.1 Family’s and societal influence…………………………………………….42 5.2.2 Organisation of Josip Broz Tito…………………………………………...46 5.2.3 Education on Yugoslavia………………………………………………….47 5.3 Youth, their issues, future uncertainty and position in the society….................. 48 5.3.1 Youth and socializing…………………………………………………….48 5.3.2 Wild capitalism/Future uncertainty………………………….................. 49 5.3.3 Women and their rights………………………………………...………...50 5.3.4 Workers and their rights………………………………………………….51 5.3.5 Nationalism………………………………………………………………52 5.3.6 Corruption and critique of the Croatian leadership and the government...53 6. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………….55 6.1 Research questions………………………………………………………………55 6.2 Answering research questions…………………………………………………...54 6.2.1 Presence of Yugonostalgia………………………………………………..56 6.2.2 Collective memory………………………………………………………..59 6.2.3 Youth and their position in the society…………………………………...62 6.2.4 Connecting the past with the present……………………………………..64 7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………66 7.1 The research objectives………………………………………………………....66 7.2 Summary of the findings………………………………………………………..67 7.3 Memory studies, youth studies and peace and conflict research………………..69 7.4 Limitations and further research………………………………………………...70 References……………………………………………………………………………………71 Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………...79 Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………………………...80 Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………………………...81 Appendix 4…………………………………………………………………………………...82 vi 1. INTRODUCTION Yugoslavia- a ‘Land of Southern Slavs’, was a country in South-eastern Europe from 1918- 1941 and 1945-1992. Yugoslavia a socialist state, was comprised of several other countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. Ran by the ‘president for life’, Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia became the “most open”1 socialist country of its time and a pioneer of the non-aligned movement2. Yugoslavia was a place where people of different religions and ethnicities ‘co-existed together’. However, as Yugoslavia in many ways flourished, there were consistently various problematics and mixed feelings towards the state and dictatorship of Yugoslavia, between the citizens. An example of this is a well-known protest ‘Croatian Spring’ held by the Croatian students. Croatian Spring (Hrvatsko Proljeće) was a cultural and political movement that emerged from the League of Communists of Croatia in the late 1960s which opposed the unitarization and called for economic, cultural and political reforms in SFR Yugoslavia and therefore more rights for Socialist Republic of Croatia within Yugoslavia (Novak, 2001, p.117). In 1971, the Yugoslav authorities suppressed the movement by force. The negative feelings as well as the positive ones were constantly omnipresent within the SFRY. With Tito’s death in 1980, Yugoslavia fell into an economic crisis, stirring up nationalistic rhetoric across the country. In 1991, Yugoslavia collapsed with former Socialist Countries of Yugoslavia, such as Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, declaring their independence from SFRY. The fight for independence was followed by a long, un-resolvable and ethnical conflict. With gaining independence and consequently recovering from a conflict, the consequences from the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the conflict are still felt in the 1 Branded as the “most open”,