Yugoslavia: A State That Withered Away

Central European Studies

by Dejan Jović

The disintegration of Yugoslavia was the result of many factors, not of a single one, but the primary one, the author argues, was commitment of the Yugoslav political elite to the Marxist ideology of withering away of the state. Ideology had a central place in Yugoslav politics. The trend of decentralization of Yugoslavia was not primarily motivated by reasons of ethnic politics, but by Marxist beliefs that the state should be decentralized and weakened until it was finally replaced by a self-managing society, especially the case during the extended period of the last 15 years before the actual breakdown of the Yugoslav socialist federation. A State that Withered Away examines the emergence, implementation, crisis, and the breakdown of the fourth (Kardelj's) constitutive concept of Yugoslavia (1974-1990), and relations between anti-statist ideology of self-management and the actual collapse of state institutions.

Genres: History, Sociology, Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Dejan Jović profesor je politologije na Fakultetu političkih znanosti u Zagrebu i naslovni profesor Fakulteta političkih nauka u Beogradu. Od 2013. do 2021. bio je glavni i odgovorni urednik časopisa Politička misao, a od osnivanja 2018. glavni je urednik Tragova, časopisa za srpske i hrvatske teme.

Diplomirao je u Zagrebu, magistrirao u Ljubljani i Manchesteru, a doktorirao u Londonu na London School of Economics and Political Science 1999. Potom je bio Jean Monnet Fellow u Europskom sveučilišnom institutu u Firenci (2000.). Od 2000. do 2010. radio je na Sveučilištu Stirling u Škotskoj, gdje je predavao politologiju i bio osnivač i direktor Centra za istraživanje europskog susjedstva. Od 2009. je profesor na Fakultetu političkih znanosti u Zagrebu, najprije izvanredni (od 2009.) pa redovni (od 2014.), a od 2020. i redovni u trajnom izboru. Od 2019. je znanstveni savjetnik u trajnom izboru iz područja politologije.

Bio je glavni analitičar u Uredu predsjednika Republike od 2010. do 2014. Predsjednik je Savjeta Srpskog narodnog vijeća i predsjednik Upravnog odbora Foruma za vanjsku politiku.

Reviews

[Carlos B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book focused on the political aspect of the Yugoslavia that emerged from the WWII and the internal political battles that eventually led to its collapsed. The author makes very interesting points. The book is well documented having a lot of quotes from the main political actors. Sometimes it is dense and the reading can be confusing but nevertheless it is worth reading.

It surely helps to understand what was Yugoslavia and why it collapsed.

[Vedrana Kopić · Rating 4 out of 5]

prvi dio znatno bolji i "objektivniji" od drugoga, pomniji odabir riječi. na kraju, poput krave, trkni kantu mlijeka sebi pod noge...mogao je završit knjigu par desetaka stranica ranije i ne latit se kvalifikacije sukoba kao građanskog/međunarodnog.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, with a unique perspective on the conflict. Highly recommended.