The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics

by Ivo Banac

Book Overview

Even before it collapsed into civil war, ethnic cleansing, and dissolution, Yugoslavia was an archetypical example of a troubled multinational mosaic, a state without a single national base or even a majority. Its stability and very existence were challenged repeatedly by the tension between the pressures for overarching political cohesion and the defense of separate national identities and aspirations.In a brilliant analysis of this complex and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801494931
• ISBN13: 9780801494932
• Release Date: February 1988
• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Interesting, but focuses upon short time period

Very interesting and useful, even though it focuses on the short (but pivotally important) time period of 1918-1921.

A seminal work

This is perhaps one of the best books on thenational/nationalist problems that have beset the former Yugoslaviasince its formation after World War I. In fact, the author primarily analyzes the short period during and immediately after the establishment of Yugoslavia in 1918, his central thesis being that the overlapping nationalist ideologies and problems which appeared then were never directly addressed and continued to plague the country (all up until its disintegration in 1990 and even afterwards). "The National Question in Yugoslavia" extensively describes the nationalisms of all Yugoslav peoples, not just the Croats. Also, since the work focuses on the early 1920s, it would have been pointless to discuss the origins of the Croatian Ustasha, since this ultra-nationalist fascist movement only emerged about ten years later. In the same vein, one could criticize this book for not providing a deeper exploration of the origins of the Serbian Chetnik movement... This is definitely THE book to read if you want a better understanding of the problems and rivalries that existed in Yugoslavia and led to the violent break-up of that country twice: during World War II and at the beginning of the 1990s.

Good detail on croation political dynamics upto WW2

A while since I read this book. Useful detail of croatian political dynamics dating from mid/late C19 to late 1930's. Avoids any real detail on the rise to power of the Ustashe movement. The content tries to be objective and suceeds to a certain extent.