The Relationship between Tito?? leadership and Collapse of Yugoslavia
Research Paper Supervisor : Dr. Sekou Conde
Minzhu University of China 2006-2007 Academic Year
[Abstract] The collapse of the former Yugoslavia is complicated, including Ethnic conflict, Interference from the great nations, Religions, Differences in economic level , Leaders and so on. Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia, under the leadership of him, the former Yugoslavia had the earliest reform and opening, the most perfect market system, but it broke up at last. It should be said that Tito devoted himself to people's liberation and construction of Yugoslavia, but we must acknowledge that some policies had brought negative impact on the development of Yugoslavia.
[Key words] Yugoslavia Tito reason achievement failure
In the history of every country there will be man of the time, in the modern history the of Yugoslavia, Josip·Broz·Tito is such a figure. Under the leadership of Tito, The former Yugoslavia was a socialist country which had the earliest reform and opening, the most perfect market system, the most prosperity economic and highest people's living standard However, 45 years later, it collapsed in a moment. Since then, Serbia and Montenegro formed small Yugoslavia, struggling under international cracking down and than suffered 78 days of indiscriminate bombing, no recovery at all. Heroic people, distressful course, tragic outcome in the end. Well, how is the relationship between Tito’s leadership and collapse of Yugoslavia? Shall we appreciate the courage and boldness of Tito, or learned some lessons from the implementation of certain policies? This article will give you a detailed study.
I. The reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia
It can be said that the reasons for the collapse of the former Yugoslavia is complicated, including the State itself and the various aspects of the external reasons, the following is a brief summary.
1. Ethnic conflict
Yugoslavia is a nation containing many ethnics, including Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. The relationship of these ethnics is very complex, including the relationship among main ethnic groups, that between main ethnic and minorities and the interests conflict between the developed and backward ethnic, nationalism reflected in the political, economical, cultural fields and interest conflict between different ethnics in the national reform and various problems caused by ethnic separatist movements .Long-term ethnic conflict together with numerous ethnic conflicts brought about by historical grievances is the most important reason led Yugoslavia split.
2. Interference from the great nations
Yugoslavia is the only Eastern European countries not ask to participate in the Department of NATO, and the Milosevic regime has been considered as ”the last communist regimes” in the European continent ??/span>which is quite different from the west in both ideology and political values. Therefore, the West undermined Yugoslavia by divided and rule strategy constantly, shacked the basis of Milosevic's regime and encouraged Montenegro to consider the issue of independence. Although the break up of Yugoslavia have internal logic of evolution, but the Western countries adding fuel to the flames is the important external factors which lead to the collapse of Yugoslavia and the war quickly.
3. Religions
Several main ethnic of the former Yugoslavia have different religious belief backgrounds and different cultural practices. The whole Yugoslavia can be divided into three civilization pieces, Western Europe Civilian Catalina, Slavic Orthodox civilization and Turkey Islamic civilization. The three large pieces clashed each other continuously, which produced conflicts constantly, this complex state of religious created deep-rooted hundreds of yearly and unceasingly ethnic and religious conflicts in Yugoslavia.
4. Differences in economic level
Since 1979, Yugoslavia’s economy has always been in crisis, and sporadic shortages of consumption and energy often took place, sometimes for long term, and the inflation rate went up from 14 percent in 1978 to 58 percent in 1983, even reached to 80 percent from early 1985, in contrast, people’s actual income had dropped by 30 percent until 1984, and didn’t made great change after that time. Those Republic located in the northern part of Yugoslavia are more developed and have higher living standards, more abundant capital, and labor productivity is more developed, while southern regions are underdeveloped, the external debt burden is more than the revenues, together with improper decision-making, which made the standard of living in the southern residents decline much more, the economic different between the North and South was expanded.[1]
5. Leaders
Tito has always been on the alert of Serbia, so he suppressed the Serb nationalism in various aspects. Under Milosevic's instigation, the Serb nationalist sentiments were inspired out, began to crusade against "historical injustice” from minority.
II. Tito’s leadership of Yugoslavia
1. Good results Tito had achieved in the process of leading Yugoslavia
(1) The independent leadership of the anti-fascist struggle and the establishment of the people’s Yugoslavia;
In the fight against fascist invaders and the struggle for freedom and liberation, Tito lead people of Yugoslavia experienced heroic and unyielding struggle. On April 6, 1941, German and Italian fascist invaders in 23 divisions of troops quickly occupied Yugoslavia. In June 27, South Central set up a guerrilla headquarters of the people of Yugoslavia, Tito was commander-in-chief, then he launched a national scale revolution called July Uprising and established the first liberated areas in the western mountains. In December that year, in the fight against the attack of German military, Tito founded the first regular army - "the first proletarian trip." He led the force under the circumstances of absence of foreign aid, the fought against the attack independently more than 20 months, had crush the enemy's seven offensive up. In the Sutjeska battle, Tito became the only commander-in-chief wounded on the battlefield during World War II. In November 1943, Marshal Tito, was awarded the title. He ignored the big nation’s opposition, declared the Anti-Fascist People's Liberation Committee to be the interim government of Yugoslavia. A year later, under the corporation of a million people of the People's Liberation Army and the Soviet Red Army, Belgrade was liberated. In November 29, 1945, the people of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was set up, Tito was the chairman and the supreme commander of the federal government.[2]
(2) Opposing to foreign control, defending their party and the country's sovereignty
In the history of the Yugoslavia Tito took the lead against and eliminate long-standing factional fighting inside the party, expressed to the Communist International the opposition of dissolution of the Yugoslavia, and organized new leadership of the Yugoslavia, saved the party. In the years of anti-fascist war, leading the Yugoslav people carried through difficult struggle in extremely difficult conditions, won the people's liberation war victory only relying on their own strength. After the war, through the economic system reform and implementation of workers autonomy, created a unique socialist system of self-rule. In the international communist movement in the face of condemn the and tremendous pressure from the communist party and the Workers Party Intelligence Bureau, he insisted on opposing foreign interference and big powers all the time, and fighting for the preservation independence and the principle of equality in the relations among the Communist Party in each country. In international affairs, he made unremitting efforts in order to ease international tensions and safeguard world peace. He insisted the nation independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, supported and assisted to national liberation movements, argued against groups to carve up the world, make a significant contribution to the birth and development of the Non-Aligned Movement.
That is just like Sikenda Kulainuoweiqi, a famous writer in Yugoslavia had said,” Actually our history is the history which is conquered by the human continuously, and in which our people's suffers the humiliation for centuries; It must come out, and it also produced one person who unitized our progressive strength around himself and to change the process and face of our history, that person is our Tito.”
(3)To create a socialist system of self-rule
From the establishment of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia 1945, to his death in 1980, Tito led the Yugoslav communists and the people of Yugoslavia explore a unique road of building socialism - the self-rule socialist system. Yugoslav self-rule socialist system was set up in the course of opposing the Soviet model, which is in the opposite of soviet model in many aspects. In the early of the system establishment, the economy developed rapidly. From the year 1952 to the year 1961, the average annual growth rate of industrial output value was 13.4 percent; the average annual growth rate of agricultural output value is 6.1 percent. This growth rate came out top of the European countries.[3]
In the process of establishing and developing the socialist system of self-rule of the former Yugoslavia, Tito attached great importance to strengthening the people's democratic rights and received a remarkable success. Self-government of Workers in enterprises and various democratic electoral system, the delegation system and the parliamentary system has aroused the working class and the broad masses of working people's enthusiasm for production, so that they feel their own liberation and social values. The people's views and wishes can be reflected through democratic channels. From 1950s50 to 1960s in the 20th century, when the socialist countries was self-enclosed, and [...]
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