United States-Yugoslav Relations, 1961-80: the Twilight of Tito's
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UNITED STATES-YUGOSLAV RELATIONS, 1961-80: THE TWILIGHT OF TITO’S ERA AND THE ROLE OF AMBASSADORIAL DIPLOMACY IN THE MAKING OF AMERICA'S YUGOSLAV POLICY Josip Močnik A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2008 Committee: Dr. Gary R. Hess, Advisor Dr. Neal Jesse Graduate Faculty Representative Dr. Beth A. Griech-Polelle Dr. Douglas J. Forsyth iii © 2008 Josip Močnik All Rights Reserved iv ABSTRACT Dr. Gary R. Hess, Advisor This historical investigation of United States-Yugoslav relations during the last two decades of Josip Broz Tito’s thirty-five-year presidency makes a contribution to understanding the formation and execution of American policy toward Yugoslavia. An examination of the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter Administrations dealings with a nonaligned and socialist Yugoslavia shows that the United States during the height of the Cold War could maintain good relations with a Communist state to uphold a wedge in the Soviet Bloc and to preserve regional geo-strategic balance. The Yugoslav communists managed to deal imaginatively and successfully with the shifts in the focus of American policy from Kennedy’s “Grand Design,” Johnson’s “building bridges” appeal, Nixon’s personal diplomacy, to Carter’s focus on the human rights. Despite its domestic problems that involved political infighting and purges, experimentations with the market economy, and the resurgence of nationalism, Yugoslavia pursued a surprisingly independent foreign policy and maintained leadership of the international nonaligned movement that created a competing ideology to challenge the established spheres of influence of the two superpowers. The study juxtaposes the importance of the role of American ambassadors in creating and maintaining bilateral relations against the importance of the high-level visits – by presidents, secretaries of state, and foreign ministers – and asserts that ambassadorial diplomacy was crucial in maintaining steady bilateral relations. Josip Močnik March 13, 2008 v To Mirta vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No project so very long in progress comes to conclusion without the assistance of many friends, colleagues, and teachers who offered me support and guidance while researching and writing. I cannot thank them all, but I ought to identify those whose assistance has been especially significant. Foremost should be Gary R. Hess. I would like to gratefully acknowledge his help, insight, support, and patience as I was trying to complete the dissertation while pursuing a librarianship career. I believe Gary has the best and finest qualities a mentor should have. I would also like to extend my thanks to the committee members for their assistance with this project: Beth Griech-Polelle, Douglas Forsyth, and Neal Jesse. Walter Grunden and the History Department at Bowling Green State University provided financial support for the completion of the dissertation while fellow graduate students read and commented on several chapters of this project. John J. Markovich encouraged me to apply at Bowling Green State University while my undergraduate advisor, Harry Leonard, was influential in kindling my interest in the study of diplomatic history and foreign relations. Thanks to Mount Aloysius College for granting me a time release from the work and to my library colleagues who were so supportive over the last four years. I must also acknowledge the financial and archival support that made this work possible. I appreciate the help from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (East European Studies and Cold War International History Project) for funding my research through travel grants and internships. The Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University and the Russian, East European and Eurasian Center at vii University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provided guidance and facilities in the early stages of my research. Many members of the Society of Historians for Foreign Relations including Fraser J. Harbutt, Ann K. Nelson, and Wilson D. Miscamble helped me explore broader questions related to my research. More personally, I must thank those whose unceasing support has enabled me to continue to drive forward. My children, Noel and Ben, gave me many more fascinating things to do besides revising chapters while motivating me to keep going. I have dedicated this project to the most amazing person I know, my wife Mirta. While her parents Karlo and Đurđica Lenart provided financial support over the years, her creativity and devotion inspired me to work harder. Her love gave me confidence to finish this project. Her faith and devotion sustained through last four difficult years and now nearly fifteen years together. I would have never completed my degree without you. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 1 II. THE KENNEDY YEARS AND KENNAN’S ROLE AS AMBASSADOR........... 7 Kennan Arrives................................................................................................ 15 The “Captive Nations Week” Controversy....................................................... 22 Belgrade Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ............................... 25 Economy and Trade......................................................................................... 39 The MFN Controversy..................................................................................... 49 Kennan Gives Up............................................................................................. 55 Conclusion....................................................................................................... 61 III. US-YUGOSLAV RELATIONS DURING THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION: “BUILDING BRIDGES OF INCREASED TRADE, OF IDEAS, AND OF HUMANITARIAN AID” ...................................................................................... 62 Nonalignment in a New Era and Continuing Problems in the Relationship....... 69 The Impact of Crises in Vietnam and Czechoslovakia...................................... 74 Building Bridges: Political, Economic, Cultural............................................... 83 Limitations of Economic Reform..................................................................... 97 Conclusion....................................................................................................... 106 IV. THE NIXON AND FORD YEARS: THE CURSE OF NATIONALISM AND THE DEMISE OF THE STATUS QUO.......................................................................... 109 Nixon, Tito State Visits – A Steady Political-Economic Relationship? ............ 116 Kissinger, Ford State Visits – A Diplomatic Courtesy? ................................... 128 The Challenge of Nationalism.......................................................................... 140 Economic and Military Relations ..................................................................... 164 The End of the Status Quo ............................................................................... 171 Conclusion....................................................................................................... 174 V. THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION AND THE END OF THE TITO ERA......... 178 Carter to Improve Relations ............................................................................. 182 Human Rights and Nonalignment .................................................................... 192 The Conclusion of the Tito Era ........................................................................ 200 VI. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 203 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 208 ix LIST OF PICTURES Page 1. Time Cover, January 12, 1962 ..................................................................................... 12 2. Kennan and Tito, 1961 ................................................................................................ 20 3. Stevenson, Tito, and Kennan in 1963........................................................................... 29 4. Tito and Kennedy in 1963 ........................................................................................... 58 5. Tito and Kennedy in 1963 ........................................................................................... 58 6. Signing of the Fulbright Agreement, 1968................................................................... 91 7. Rogers, Nixon, and Tito, 1970..................................................................................... 121 8. President and Mrs. Nixon and President Tito and Mrs. Broz, 1971 .............................. 126 9. Kissinger and Tito, 1974 ............................................................................................. 133 10. President and Mrs. Carter and Tito, 1978..................................................................... 190 11. Time Cover, June 13, 1969 .......................................................................................... 198 LIST OF TABLES 1. Comparison of Sino-Soviet Bloc and American Aid Distributed to Selected Nonaligned Countries.. .......... ......................................................................................................