MA THESIS in European Studies: A Troubled Pass to Europe: Former Yugoslavia from Self-managed Socialism to Neoliberal Capitalism (original) (raw)

Self-Government in Yugoslavia: The Path to Capitalism?

2020

This chapter analyzes self-governing Yugoslavia in the context of capitalism. Regarding the problem of capitalism in socialist world, the practice of the former Yugoslavia cannot be ignored. The socialist Yugoslavia was predetermined to be qualified as capitalist. The Yugoslav leadership developed: (a) self-government, (b) elements of market-biased socialism, and (c) openness to the international economy or the integration in the world market. Its economy achieved remarkable results by the mid-1960s. Some notable economists compliment the results and suggest that the model is sustainable. However, since the mid-1960s, regressive tendencies have emerged that perpetuate significant social dissatisfaction. In 1968, students protested against the state of Yugoslav socialism, believing that it had absorbed capitalism. Others felt that Yugoslav socialism had not sufficiently developed market-based socialism. There were authors that argued that Yugoslav socialism had become capitalist but without capitalist rationality. In the 1970s, the de iure existing federation became a de facto confederation with closed national economies. The chapter discusses the presence of elements of capitalism in this form of socialism based on (a) dependence on the world market, (b) banks as the institutionalization of "financial mode of capital," and (c) the existence of perpetuated unemployment.

Thirty Years after the Break-up of Yugoslavia

Historical Materialism

The contribution sheds a critical light on the thirty years since the break-up of socialist Yugoslavia. It presents three hypotheses for a critical reorientation of the 1989–91 sequence. Firstly, rather than seeing 1989 as the start of the longue durée of a democratic process, for Yugoslavia this trajectory was ‘realised’ as political chaos and ethnic wars in 1991. Secondly, criticising the chronological view of ‘post-socialism’, it posits post-socialism as having already emerged after 1965, marked by market reforms that ‘withered away’ socialism. Thirdly, and specific to the 1990s, in order to facilitate the transition to capitalism, a ‘primitive accumulation’ of memory and a high degree of violence unfolded, which actually dis-accumulated the socialist infrastructure and socialised means of (re)production. The post-Yugoslav transition proved a genuine ‘contribution’ to ‘making our country great again’: ethnically cleansed nation-states on the horizon of European peripheral capital...

Reflections on Yugoslavia’s Socialist Past and Present-Day Colonization

Life in the Mix, 2012

In this essay I present my personal reflections on the life in the former Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and on the current trends of privatization and corporate takeover of Yugoslav natural, economic, and human resources. Years ago, I personally experienced the best phase of Yugoslav socialism and worked in academic and research institutions. Even though the following pages don't appear in the form of a scholarly article, I attempt to briefly present and explain the most important institutions and aspects of the Yugoslav socio-political and economic system, highlighting "the Yugoslav way of life" and what it meant for the diverse peoples of Yugoslavia. Seven small, disoriented, and colonized countries-the remains of Yugoslavia-struggle today, torn between their unique past and unsettling present. Desperation and apathy go hand in hand with wars and foreign occupation. Yet, Yugoslav people are resilient and therefore I finish this essay with some examples of current workers struggles and people's resistance.

Thirty Years after the Break up of Yugoslavia: The Primitive (Dis)accumulation of Capital and Memory; or, How (Not) To Make This Country Great Again

Historical Materialism, 2022

The contribution sheds a critical light on the thirty years since the break-up of socialist Yugoslavia. It presents three hypotheses for a critical reorientation of the 1989–91 sequence. Firstly, rather than seeing 1989 as the start of the longue durée of a democratic process, for Yugoslavia this trajectory was ‘realised’ as political chaos and ethnic wars in 1991. Secondly, criticising the chronological view of ‘post-socialism’, it posits post-socialism as having already emerged after 1965, marked by market reforms that ‘withered away’ socialism. Thirdly, and specific to the 1990s, in order to facilitate the transition to capitalism, a ‘primitive accumulation’ of memory and a high degree of violence unfolded, which actually dis-accumulated the socialist infrastructure and socialised means of (re)production. The post-Yugoslav transition proved a genuine ‘contribution’ to ‘making our country great again’: ethnically cleansed nation-states on the horizon of European peripheral capitalism. The contribution concludes on an affirmative note, pointing to the slow resurgence of the Left.