Suchergebnisse

In the states which formed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, ethnic/national cultures are developing independently, alongside a parallel shared post-Yugoslav culture. This culture is not a continuation of the official cultural collaboration between the Yugoslav nations which took place when Yugoslavia existed, rather it is a new phenomenon. It is appearing in opposition to nationalism, against the closing off of culture into narrow ethno-national frames and is based on the genuine existence of a cultural unity older than the common state which was created from the common Yugoslav state itself. It seeks creative responses to the problems caused by the wars and collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It also looks for the appropriate analytical instruments. The author uses the Biblioteka XX vek (The 20th Century Library) as an example – the book series which he founded and publishes in the field of humanities and social sciences. The alternative post-Yugoslav culture is characterised by the high quality of what it offers. However, its protagonists are simultaneously criticised by the nationalist circles in power in the states formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, who consider the post-Yugoslav cultural unity an alleged national betrayal.

This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the wars of the 1990s. Thirty years after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's disintegration, the discourse of post-war memory politics continues to dominate nearly all of the successor states, even though two of them have seemingly left the past behind to join the European Union. While the wars of the 1990s created an entirely new memoryscape in the region, they also radically transformed the way in which each country commemorated the Second World War. Although the article examines in-depth the collective remembrance of sites of memory, such as Jasenovac, Bleiburg, and Knin, trends across the broader region are also addressed. The work of young scholars, as well as experienced researchers, who have introduced innovative approaches in memory studies in the former Yugoslavia, is highlighted to show how new studies focus on the cultural reproduction of dominant narratives in addition to top-down political discourse.

This article analyses the international conditions during the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is an outline of a broad research problem, a historical analysis from the perspective of the decades-long evolution of Yugoslavia's international position. After its expulsion from the Eastern Bloc in 1948, the country balanced between East and West, becoming one of the founders and leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The author focuses on the aspect of Yugoslavia's role in the politics of the West, especially the US and the EEC, during and at the end of the Cold War. It was the West that could, possibly, have played a role in preventing the disintegration of the country in the early 1990s, in contrast to the USSR, which had its own internal problems at that time. What factors influenced Western support for the SFRY during the Cold War? How did Yugoslavia's position in Western politics change when the Cold War rivalry ended? The author points out the temporal connection between the disintegration of the SFRY and, among other things, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union, the democratisation process in Eastern Europe, German reunification, European integration, and the crisis in the Middle East. In the end, there was a lack of real and coherent action by Western countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Balkans. The consequence of this would be the disintegration of the SFRY and several years of war in the former Yugoslavia.

Scientific connections between Polish People's Republic and The Second Yugoslavia were a very important element of the bilateral relations between both countries. The mechanisms and rules of the scientific cooperation were similar to the rules and mechanisms of the cultural cooperation and faced the same constraints and possibilities. Types of institutions existing in the field of culture had their correspondences in the field of science and education. Developing of the scientific cooperation was not a strategic aim for both countries in the interwar period as well as during the Communism due to the situation on the international political scene. In the era of globalization, in the context of international scientific cooperation, interslavic relations has become the weakest in the last two centuries. Nowadays, even more than before, the scientific cooperation between all Slavic countries depends on individuals and their involvement. ; Scientific connections between Polish People's Republic and The Second Yugoslavia were a very important element of the bilateral relations between both countries. The mechanisms and rules of the scientific cooperation were similar to the rules and mechanisms of the cultural cooperation and faced the same constraints and possibilities. Types of institutions existing in the field of culture had their correspondences in the field of science and education. Developing of the scientific cooperation was not a strategic aim for both countries in the interwar period as well as during the Communism due to the situation on the international political scene. In the era of globalization, in the context of international scientific cooperation, interslavic relations has become the weakest in the last two centuries. Nowadays, even more than before, the scientific cooperation between all Slavic countries depends on individuals and their involvement.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE UNITED STATES TOWARDS THE BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN ITALY AND YUGOSLAVIA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 50s OF THE 20TH CENTURYFollowing the II World War, Italy and Yugoslavia occupied a special place in the foreign policy of the United States. The border dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia which dated back to the turn of the 40s and the beginning of the 50s of the 20th c., was yet another example of the international crisis in Europe at the time of the cold war. The article presents the activities of the American politicians undertaken towards Italy and Yugoslavia which aimed at incorporating these countries into the structures of Western European democracy. In the case of Italy, the above initiative of the American diplomacy proved to be successful and it led to the entry of the Italian republic into NATO, as well as the European economic and political structures. In the case of the other party participating in the dispute over Triest, i.e. Yugoslavia, the American presidents Truman and Eisenhower tried to take advantage of the crisis in the Yugoslav-Soviet relations, so as to win over marshal Tito and make him cooperate. Having decided to make concessions towards Yugoslavia with regard to the territorial claims made by marshal Tito, the Americans wished to achieve the superior goal: namely that of weakening the Socialist bloc by detaching Yugoslavia from it and making it join the West. The author evaluates the American policy towards Italy and Yugoslavia whose background was a territorial dispute over borderline territories. The main actors on the American political scene were forced to make some very difficult and delicate choices with regard to both parties participating in the above conflict.

The breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 30 years ago still has a substantial impact on the post-Yugoslav countries which proclaimed independence. Bearing in mind that the breakup also generated a military conflict, e.g. in Croatia, the restoration of Serbian-Croatian relations remains problematic. One of the challenges is passing a fair judgment on people responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established for this reason in particular. Ante Gotovina – a Croatian general, was one of those indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the military operation "Oluja" during which some heinous acts of crime took place. Gotovina played a clear and primary role in this operation, and therefore his actions were the main count of the indictment, firstly, for the prosecution and then for the Trial Chamber of ICTY. However, the sentence of 24 years imprisonment was never carried out following a successful appeal. The Appeals Chamber did not uphold the verdict of the Trial Chamber owing to a serious legal error and, consequently, it acquitted Gotovina of all the charges. This issue became yet another source of Serbian-Croatian conflict in connection with the most important people held responsible for the crimes committed in 1991-1995.