The Croatian Spring: Nationalism, Repression and Foreign Policy Under Tito (International Library of Twentieth Century History)

Nationalism is a key topic within Balkan Studies, and the driving force behind the bloody and difficult history of the region. Under the charismatic Tito, the Yugoslavia state was successful in remaining 'non-aligned' - a friend of the West and the Soviet Union as it pursued its own vision of socialism. Using primary sources not previously utilized by western scholars, this book will document the 'Croatian Spring' – a movement 'from below' which began in the mid-sixties and pushed for liberalism and de-centralisation. A precursor to the successful Croatian Spring of the early 1970s, this flowering of political thought and action was suppressed. In particular the fall of Ranković – ousted for allegedly bugging Tito's private apartment - marks the beginning of the end of the centralised and stable Yugoslav state. Batovic also looks at the role of the West, who felt a centralised and stable Yugoslavia was in their interests and therefore colluded in the initial repression of a reformist movement. Cover 1 Author bio 3 Endorsement 4 Title page 5 Dedication 6 Copyright information 6 Table of contents 7 List of Figures 8 Acknowledgements 9 Foreword 10 Introduction 17 1 The Cold War World 22 The Impact of Détente 22 Soviet Interests in Yugoslavia 26 The View from the West 30 Economic Relations and the West 31 2 Yugoslavia, 1945–65 37 The Early Postwar Years 37 The Informbiro Resolution and the Conflict with Stalin 42 Bonding with the West 45 The Belgrade Declaration on the Independent Path to Socialism 49 Balancing East and West 53 Non-Alignment Policy 55 Titoism and Workers’ Self-Management 57 Liberalisation of Economic Life 59 National Awakenings 62 3 Economic Reforms and the Fall of Aleksandar Ranković 66 The Economic Reforms of 1965 66 The Expulsion of Aleksandar Ranković 74 4 The Language Question 84 Towards a Joint Language 84 The Declaration on the Title and Position of the Croatian Language 87 5 Liberal Reforms 100 After the Brijuni Plenum 100 American Observations 107 After the Ninth Congress of 1969 110 The Spring Leadership 112 The Slovenian Road Affair 113 The Liberalisation of the Media 115 6 Democratising Foreign Policy 120 Two Meetings, Two Concepts 125 International Developments in 1966–9 134 The Middle East Crisis of 1967 135 Czechoslovakia in 1968 138 China and the Balkans 143 7 Nixon in Yugoslavia 147 The 10th Meeting of the CC LCC 147 Nixon in Yugoslavia 158 8 1971: Yugoslavia in Crisis 169 Constitutional Changes 169 The West and the Croatian National Question in 1971 174 University and Students 183 The Return of the Language Question 187 The Stormy Spring of 1971 188 The Census 189 The Spy Affair 191 The Brijuni Meeting and Brezhnev’s Call 198 The Western Press in 1971 205 The Veselica-Ðodan Case 207 9 Two Visits 211 Comrade Brezhnev Comes to Belgrade 211 Mr Tito Goes to Washington 214 10 Purge 219 The Hot Political Autumn 219 The Karadordevo Meeting and the Purge 229 11 1972: Aftermath 249 Trials in Croatia and Serbia 250 ‘An Old Man in a Panic’: The FCO Helps the British Press 255 Diplomats Disagree Between Belgrade and Zagreb 267 NATO Reacts 272 Soviet Reactions 277 A Reflection 279 Conclusion 280 The West 283 The Soviets 286 Lessons 288 Further Research 292 Bibliography 340 Archives 340 National Archives, London 340 National Archives and Record Administration, Washington, DC 340 Republic of Croatia, Zagreb 340 Republic of Serbia, Belgrade 341 Kingdom of Belgium, Brussels 341 Digital Archives 341 Published Documents 342 Books 342 Articles 348 Index 356 Nationalism is a key topic within Balkan Studies, and one of the driving forces behind the bloody and difficult history of the region. Using primary sources not previously utilized by western scholars, this book documents the 'Croatian Spring' - a national and liberal movement that began in the mid-sixties after the fall of the vice president and head of the Yugoslav secret police Aleksandar Rankovic. The author chronicles these developments of democratisation and de-centralisation of communist Yugoslavia, placing them in the wider context of the Cold War and Yugoslav relations with the Soviet Union and the UnitedStates. Tito managed to balance national stability and his relations with East and West, until he felt that the national-liberal movements challenged his authority, and thus threaten the very foundations of the Yugoslav state. From late 1971 onwards, the liberal political and cultural classes of Croatia and other republics were abruptly purged, impoverishing Yugoslav leadership for subsequent decades. Batovic also considers the role of the West, who felt a centralised and stable Yugoslavia was in their interests and quickly accommodated themselves to the repression of the reformist movement Annotation Nationalism is a key topic within Balkan Studies, and one of the driving forces behind the bloody and difficult history of the region. Using primary sources not previously utilized by western scholars, this book documents the 'Croatian Spring' - a national and liberal movement that began in the mid-60s after the fall of the vice president and head of the Yugoslav secret police Aleksandar Rankovic. The author chronicles these developments of democratisation and de-centralisation of communist Yugoslavia, placing them in the wider context of the Cold War and Yugoslav relations with the Soviet Union and the United States. Tito managed to balance national stability and his relations with East and West, until he felt that the national-liberal movements challenged his authority, and thus threaten the very foundations of the Yugoslav state