MASTER THESIS Titel der Master Thesis / Title of the Master’s Thesis “Precarious Balance: The fragility of Tito’s Yugoslavia. Between “bratstvo jedinstvo”, repression and self-determination from 1945 to 1991” verfasst von / submitted by Bernd Christoph Ströhm Angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Advanced International Studies (M.A.I.S.) Wien 2019 / Vienna 2019 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt A 992 940 Postgraduate programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Universitätslehrgang lt. Studienblatt Internationale Studien / International Studies Postgraduate programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Prof. Thomas Row Abstract This Thesis is an analysis of Tito’s Yugoslavia, focusing on the sources of stability and instability; it employs International Relations Theory and historical narrative. A major concept that will be utilized is “balance of power” theory, which will illustrate how in Yugoslavia “supranational” stability was achieved by ensuring an “equilibrium of power”. In this Thesis Yugoslavia has to be perceived not as an ordinary, single national state, but more as its own “mini state system”, since the Yugoslav Federation itself was composed of several Republics with their own respective rights and identities. Tito’s approach of assuring stability with his policy of “brotherhood and unity” initially prevented the formation of “destabilizing factors”, in the case of Yugoslavia nationalist tendencies themselves, which constantly threatened his “Pan-Slavic” union. Tito’s methods to preserve his second Yugoslav “experiment” are also visible through major events which shaped Yugoslavia for generations to come, like the “Tito-Stalin Split”, the establishment of a Yugoslav “self-management system” or the “Croatian Spring” movement. Throughout this Thesis it is also shown how Tito tried to ensure a “balance of powers” not only on a national level, but also between the Yugoslav ethnicities themselves, especially through his key ideology of “brotherhood and unity”, which was enforced with a “sticks and carrots” approach - in form of reforms, but also with repressive measures. In order to ensure stability, Tito fiercely persecuted political and cultural dissidents in his Yugoslavia, which were often imprisoned in labour camps (“Goli Otok”). The approach of viewing Yugoslavia as its own state system ultimately allows to grasp how Tito managed to preserve the Yugoslav Federation: on an authoritarian level first and, after his constitutional amendments of 1974, on a “plural” level second. German Abstract Diese Masterarbeit stellt eine Analyse von Titos Jugoslawien dar und konzentriert sich auf die Ursachen von stabilen und instabilen Faktoren, welche diese „Föderative Volksrepublik“ zusammengehalten, bzw. nach Titos Tod, auseinandergerissen haben. Dabei ist es essenziell, dass in dieser Arbeit Jugoslawien nicht als gewöhnlicher, einzelner Staat, sondern vielmehr als ein eigenes Staatensystem wahrgenommen wird, da sich die Jugoslawische Föderation selbst aus mehreren Republiken mit jeweiligen Rechten und Identitäten zusammengesetzt hat. Die Etablierung eines „Mächtegleichgewichts“ innerhalb Jugoslawiens war für den Erhalt dieses Staatengefüges essenziell, da Tito dadurch eine „supranationale“ Stabilität innerhalb seiner Föderativen Volksrepublik erreichen konnte. Dabei spielt Titos Politik der „Brüderlichkeit und Einheit“ ebenfalls eine zentrale Rolle. In Zuge dieser Arbeit wird ebenfalls geschildert, wie Tito sein "Gleichgewicht der Kräfte" nicht nur auf nationaler Ebene, sondern auch zwischen den jugoslawischen Ethnien selbst gewährleisten wollte. Titos Methodik der „Zuckerbrot und Peitsche“, welche er angewendet hat um politische Stabilität in Jugoslawien zu gewährleisten, einerseits durch Reformen, andererseits durch repressive Maßnahmen - besonders im Hinblick auf die Verfolgung und Inhaftierung der jugoslawischen politischen und kulturellen Opposition, ist ebenfalls in dieser Arbeit prominent vertreten. Der Ansatz, Jugoslawien als ein eigenes Staatensystem zu betrachten, erlaubt es letztendlich zu verstehen, wie Tito es geschafft hat, die Jugoslawische Föderation bis zu seinem Tod aufrechtzuerhalten: anfänglich auf einer autoritären und zuletzt auf einer „pluralistischen“ Ebene, vor allem nach seinen Verfassungsänderungen im Jahr 1974. Table of Contents I. Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 II. Prelude: ................................................................................................................................5 - The rise and fall of the 1st Yugoslavia .............................................................................................5 - Tito’s rise to power during WWII ....................................................................................................7 III. A Federation in constant peril: Destabilising factors to Tito’s 2nd Yugoslavia .............................................................10 - Federalism versus Centralism. The internal opposition to Yugoslavia’s state structure ................11 - The failed integration of Kosovo in the Yugoslav Federation .......................................................14 - Croatia’s “stigma” and its national opposition to Tito’s Federal Yugoslavia ................................17 - Serbian nationalism and its dominant grip over Yugoslavia ..........................................................19 - Yugoslavia’s economic inefficiency .............................................................................................22 IV. Yugoslavia Reborn. The Reforms of Josip Broz “Tito” ................................................25 - Tito’s ideology of “brotherhood and unity” ...................................................................................28 - Tito’s labour reforms .....................................................................................................................31 - Yugoslavia’s economic reforms of 1965 .......................................................................................33 - The “liberalization” of the Yugoslav market and labour force ......................................................35 - Tito’s final amendments to the Yugoslav Constitution in 1974 .....................................................38 V. “Paradise Lost”:Tito’s repression of Yugoslavia’s dissidence ......................................42 - Tito’s persecution of the “Četnik” movement after WWII ............................................................43 - A farewell to “Big Brother”: The Tito-Stalin Split ........................................................................44 - “Goli Otok” and the persecution of Tito’s political enemies .........................................................48 - Tito’s “internal enemies”: The Milovan Đilas Affair ....................................................................51 - Tito and the Yugoslav student protests of 1968 ............................................................................53 - Kosovo in 1968 – Yugoslavia’s “special case” ..............................................................................59 - The “Croatian Spring” and the purge of Yugoslavia’s liberal political cadre ................................62 VI. Epilogue: Yugoslavia after Tito. Dawn of the Balkan Tragedy ....................................67 - The collapse of the Yugoslav economy during the 1980s .............................................................68 - Serbia’s “hegemonic” ambitions and the end of Tito’s “precarious balance” ...............................71 VII. Conclusion .........................................................................................................................75 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................................80 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................92 A1: Dramatis personae: General ............................................................................................................94 A2: Dramatis personae: Dissidents in Tito’s Yugoslavia .......................................................................95 B1: Chronology: History of Yugoslavia .................................................................................................99 B2: Chronology: Opposition and oppression in Tito’s Yugoslavia .....................................................101 C: Maps ................................................................................................................................................102 D: Yugoslav Constitution of 1974 ........................................................................................................105 E: Glossary ...........................................................................................................................................106 F: Mind Map: Tito‘s Opposition ..........................................................................................................109 G: Reforms and Oppression: The Fragile Balance of Tito’s Yugoslavia .............................................110 Pledge of Honesty .................................................................................................................................112